dentifrice

dentifrice — noun

1. any product — a paste, gel, powder, or rinse — that people put on a toothbrush o

1.nounC2
Definition

any product — a paste, gel, powder, or rinse — that people put on a toothbrush or in the mouth to clean their teeth and freshen the breath.

Example

The pharmacy sold a herbal dentifrice that smelled strongly of mint and cloves.

countable noun: a dentifrice

Leo's grandmother still mixed her own dentifrice from baking soda, sea salt, and a few drops of peppermint oil.

informal home-made context

Common collocations
  • fluoride dentifrice
  • herbal dentifrice
  • whitening dentifrice
  • apply a dentifrice
Synonyms
  • toothpaste

    the everyday word for the paste/gel form; far more common in all registers

  • tooth powder

    older or specialist term for the powder form specifically

  • mouthwash

    related liquid product, but used for rinsing rather than brushing

Usage Note

Formal or technical term — appears mainly on product labels, in dental-care articles, and in older writing. In everyday Taiwan and US/UK English, learners should say 'toothpaste' (or 'tooth powder' for the powder form) instead.

Common Mistakes

I forgot to buy dentifrice at the supermarket.
I forgot to buy toothpaste at the supermarket.
in everyday speech, 'toothpaste' is the normal word; 'dentifrice' sounds oddly formal in a casual shopping context.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words all relate to oral hygiene products, but they sit at very different registers and refer to different forms. 'Dentifrice' is the formal cover term: any substance — paste, gel, powder, or sometimes a rinse — designed for cleaning the teeth. It appears mainly on packaging, in dental science, and in older writing. 'Toothpaste' is the everyday word and covers the soft paste or gel sold in tubes; this is what almost every speaker says in shops and at home. 'Tooth powder' is a narrower, older term for the dry powdered form, popular before tubes became common and still sold today in some natural-care lines. 'Mouthwash' is a separate product entirely — a liquid for rinsing rather than brushing. So if a label says 'fluoride dentifrice', the everyday translation is 'fluoride toothpaste'.

dentifrice ↗toothpaste ↗tooth powdermouthwash ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dentifrice tube
  • dentifrice formula
  • dentifrice manufacturer

Phrases

  • a tube of dentifrice
  • a pea-sized amount of dentifrice

Prepositions

  • dentifrice for (sensitive teeth)
  • dentifrice with (fluoride)

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'dentifricium', a compound of 'dens' (tooth) and 'fricare' (to rub) — literally 'something for rubbing the teeth'. The word entered English through French in the 1500s, when tooth-cleaning powders were the only commercial product of this kind. Modern English keeps it as a technical and product-label term, while the everyday word 'toothpaste' (a plain English compound) took over in daily speech once tubed paste became common in the late 1800s.