Meaning & use
Tartar
Last updated
A hard yellowish deposit that forms on teeth from the mineralization of dental plaque.
See it in a sentence
The dentist scraped away the tartar buildup during the cleaning.
Regular flossing helps prevent tartar from forming along the gumline.
A note on using this word
Capitalized as 'Tartar,' the word historically referred to Central Asian peoples; the dental sense comes from the crusty residue's resemblance to mineral deposits.
Words with a similar meaning
plaque buildupcalculus
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. noun
A harsh, ill-tempered, or intractable person.
Their new manager turned out to be a real tartar in meetings.
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