sink one's teeth into

present singular third person sinks one's teeth into · participle present sinking one's teeth into · past sank one's teeth into · participle past sunk one's teeth into · alternative sink one's teeth in

1. To bite; to bite into.

   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.

   2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN

2. broadlycolloquialfigurativelyTo become enthusiastically involved in.

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

   2 more examples

   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.

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

   A Thrilling Lesbian Vampire Novel You’ll Want to Sink Your Teeth Into [title]

   2025 June 10, Everdeen Mason, “A Thrilling Lesbian Vampire Novel You’ll Want to Sink Your Teeth Into”, in The New York Times, →ISSN