Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

tooth fairy

noun
Save Word

Definition of tooth fairy

: a fairy believed by children to leave money while they sleep in exchange for a tooth that has come out

Examples of tooth fairy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Bluey, a 6-year-old puppy, proudly tells her dad, Bandit, the tooth fairy gave her $5. — Jennifer Mcclellan, USA TODAY, "Finally! 'Bluey' on Disney is a show kids can watch on repeat without driving parents crazy," 21 Oct. 2019 As penance for dashing a child’s hopes, a rough-and-tumble hockey player must serve time as a genuine tooth fairy. — Los Angeles Times, "Here are the feature and TV films airing the week of Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019," 11 Aug. 2019 Wonder how much the tooth fairy leaves for future kings of England? — Emily Dixon, Marie Claire, "Prince William Smiles With Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis in a Previously Unseen Photo," 23 July 2019 My daughter was hysterical; convinced without a tooth the tooth fairy would never come to visit her. — Kristen Hellmer, USA TODAY, "3 parenting fails I hope to laugh about later," 6 July 2018 All of her friends, and even her younger cousin, had been visited by the tooth fairy at least once. — Kristen Hellmer, USA TODAY, "3 parenting fails I hope to laugh about later," 6 July 2018 Our daughter came out with her tooth fairy box and asked for the tooth. — Kristen Hellmer, USA TODAY, "3 parenting fails I hope to laugh about later," 6 July 2018 However last year, despite the S&P 500 gaining nearly 18 percent, the tooth fairy dropped her gifting rate. — William Axford, Houston Chronicle, "Poll: Tooth Fairy paid $271 million for lost teeth in 2017," 27 Feb. 2018 The tooth fairy still largely operates in dimes, quarters or even dollars. — Brett Molina, USA TODAY, "We're ditching cash. So how do we teach kids about money?," 16 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tooth fairy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of tooth fairy

1908, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about tooth fairy

Statistics for tooth fairy

Last Updated

13 Nov 2019

Time Traveler for tooth fairy

The first known use of tooth fairy was in 1908

See more words from the same year

More from Merriam-Webster on tooth fairy

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with tooth fairy

Comments on tooth fairy

What made you want to look up tooth fairy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

white elephant

Listen to the pronounciation of white elephant

something of little or no value

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Pass the Little Ribbons: A Pasta Word Quiz

  • rotelle pasta
  • Match the pasta to its meaning in English: Rotelle
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games