molar

/ˈmoʊlər/

/ˈmʌʊlə/

Other forms: molars

The big strong teeth in the back of your mouth are molars. Molars make it possible for you to chew and grind the food you eat. If you don't have molars, don't order the steak.

Humans generally have twelve molars by the time they're adults, including the wisdom teeth which often grow in crooked and need to be removed. All mammals have molars, used for crushing and grinding food, but they come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Molar comes from the Latin molaris dens, "grinding tooth," from the root mola, "millstone."

Definitions of molar

1. noun

   grinding tooth with a broad crown; located behind the premolars
   synonyms: grinder

   types:

   wisdom tooth

   any of the last 4 teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaw; the last of the permanent teeth to erupt (between ages 16 and 21)

   type of:

   tooth

   hard bonelike structures in the jaws of vertebrates; used for biting and chewing or for attack and defense
2. adjective

   of or pertaining to the grinding teeth in the back of a mammal's mouth
   “molar teeth”
3. adjective

   containing one mole of a substance
   “molar weight”
4. adjective

   designating a solution containing one mole of solute per liter of solution
5. adjective

   pertaining to large units of behavior
   “"such molar problems of personality as the ego functions"--R.R. Hunt”

   antonyms:

   molecular

   relating to simple or elementary organization