brush your teeth

Meaning

This phrase means to clean your teeth using a toothbrush and toothpaste. It is a daily hygiene habit that people usually do in the morning after waking up and at night before going to bed. It is a neutral, everyday expression used by speakers of all ages.

Examples

• Don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.

  Don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.

• I usually brush my teeth for two minutes, just like my dentist recommended.

  I usually brush my teeth for two minutes, just like my dentist recommended.

• The kids are upstairs brushing their teeth right now.

  The kids are upstairs brushing their teeth right now.

• You should brush your teeth after eating sugary snacks to prevent cavities.

  You should brush your teeth after eating sugary snacks to prevent cavities.

• She ran upstairs to brush her teeth quickly before the meeting.

  She ran upstairs to brush her teeth quickly before the meeting.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to wash my teeth.

  ✓ I need to brush my teeth.

  In many languages, people use the verb 'wash' for teeth, but in English, we always use the verb 'brush' or sometimes 'clean'.

• ✗ Did you brush the teeth?

  ✓ Did you brush your teeth?

  English speakers almost always use a possessive adjective (my, your, his, her, their) instead of the article 'the' when talking about body parts.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Go to the bathroom and ___ before sleeping.

  💡 Use a toothbrush and toothpaste.

  Show answer

  brush your teeth

• I always ___ right after I eat breakfast.

  💡 Change the pronoun to match 'I'.

  Show answer

  brush my teeth