in the teeth of

1. Straight into, confronting, as in The ship was headed in the teeth of the gale . [Late 1200s]

2. In opposition to or defiance of, as in She stuck to her position in the teeth of criticism by the board members . [Late 1700s] Also see fly in the face of .

3. Facing danger or threats, as in The tribe was in the teeth of starvation . [Early 1800s]

Example Sentences

For 10 months, Crisp and others beat down the doors of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and commercial enterprise to find the money to preserve it, but this was in the teeth of the Great Recession, and no one signed on.

From Los Angeles Times

"What took place on the South Downs was done in the teeth of warnings by social workers and the courts," he said, "and at a time when the defendants knew that their other children - four of them - had been removed from their care".

From BBC

It was only later, after the pandemic receded into our collective rear-view mirror, that I recognized another, underlying reason I talked money so much in the teeth of my frustration and fear.

From Salon

And yet, against all odds and in the teeth of a Merseyside blizzard, United showed all the qualities Amorim claimed they had been missing to deliver the finest performance of his short reign to earn a 2-2 draw.

From BBC

One rural corner of Kent is rapidly becoming a test case for how determined the government is to force through planning decisions in the teeth of local opposition.

From BBC