sink one's teeth into

English

Alternative forms

• sink one's teeth in

Verb

sink one's teeth into (third-person singular simple present sinks one's teeth into, present participle sinking one's teeth into, simple past sank one's teeth into, past participle sunk one's teeth into)

1. To bite; to bite into.
   • 2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

     She yanked her head over her shoulder and, taking her cue from the rat in the laboratory, she sank her teeth into Burt’s arm as hard as she could.

2. (colloquial, figurative, by extension) To become enthusiastically involved in.

   He can't wait to sink his teeth into the new project.

   • 2012, Gavin McInnes, The Death of Cool: From Teenage Rebellion to the Hangover of Adulthood, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 88:

     He seemed happy living life in cruise control, which pissed me off. “Don't you want to really sink your teeth into something?” I asked.