teeming
1 Americanadjective
-
abounding or swarming with something, as with people.
We elbowed our way through the teeming station.
-
prolific or fertile.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- teemingly adverb
- teemingness noun
Etymology
Origin of teeming1
First recorded in 1525–35; teem 1 + -ing 2
Origin of teeming2
Explanation
Teeming means completely full, especially with living things. If your grandmother's apartment is teeming with cats, she sure has a lot of them. Any time something (or someplace) is filled with life, it's teeming with it. A gorgeous purple garden in the south of France might be teeming with lavender plants, and you might describe the crowded state fair grounds as teeming with people. The Old English root teman means to give birth to, and this used to be a common meaning of teeming — being fertile or pregnant, or producing young.
Vocabulary lists containing teeming
The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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The Alchemist
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Hag” is a promising showcase for all involved, teeming with great ideas, splashy kills, loud laughs and a just-dreamlike-enough atmosphere to push my affection beyond irony.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
Those same banks are teeming with relatively dormant deposits.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
On New Year’s Eve, during my family’s stay, the hotel was teeming with visitors in black tie.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Eddie Izzard, the wry, gender-fluid British comedian who came to attention with a stream of observational drollery that picked away at common sense, takes on the whole teeming tragedy.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026
“I wonder if he could just walk over with you, Comfort,” whispered Aunt Goldie, her eyes teeming with fresh tears.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
