student asking question

Can I also say “teethbrush”?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

No. That does not make sense in English. Even though we have "teeth" (plural form of tooth), we brush our teeth with a "toothbrush." This name comes from the words tooth (a countable noun) and brush (verb). There are many examples of this kind of word structure (countable noun + a verb or noun) in English. For example: Toothpaste, Shark tank, Hamburger Even though you are brushing your teeth, you would use a toothbrush. (Not teethbrush.)

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