tee
noun
the letter T or t.
tee
1 American
[tee]
/ ti /
tee
2
American
[tee]
/ ti /
noun
-
Golf.
-
Also called teeing ground. the starting place, usually a hard mound of earth, at the beginning of play for each hole.
-
a small wooden, plastic, metal, or rubber peg from which the ball is driven, as in teeing off.
-
-
Football. a device on which the ball may be placed to raise it off the ground preparatory to kicking.
verb (used with object)
-
tees,
present (3rd person singular)
-
teed,
past participle, past
-
teeing
present participle
verb phrase
TEE
3
American
Or
T-E-E
abbreviation
tee
1
British
/ tiː /
noun
-
a pipe fitting in the form of a letter T, used to join three pipes
-
a metal section with a cross section in the form of a letter T, such as a rolled-steel joist
-
any part or component shaped like a T
tee
2
British
/ tiː /
noun
-
Also called: teeing ground. an area, often slightly elevated, from which the first stroke of a hole is made
-
a support for a golf ball, usually a small wooden or plastic peg, used when teeing off or in long grass, etc
verb
tee
3
British
/ tiː /
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
teesimple
-
teessimple
-
have teedperfect
-
has teedperfect
-
am teeingprogressive
-
are teeingprogressive
-
is teeingprogressive
-
have been teeingperfect progressive
-
has been teeingperfect progressive
Past
-
teedsimple
-
had teedperfect
-
was teeingprogressive
-
were teeingprogressive
-
had been teeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tee1
First recorded in 1600–10
Origin of tee2
First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain
Explanation
In golf, a tee is the small wooden support off of which you hit a golf ball. The word tee is also used more generally for the area of a golf course where you begin a match. Other sports that use a tee include tee ball, American football, and rugby—each of these tees is significantly larger than a golf tee. As a verb, tee means "hit off of a tee," and in golf you "tee off" when play begins. Besides its Scottish origin, not much is known about where this word comes from. Informally, when you're teed off at someone, you're really angry.
Vocabulary lists containing tee
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.
See Examples For:
These brokers, many of whom were in the Korean community, would gobble up tee times, then advertise them on social media, particularly the Korean app KakaoTalk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
But though “Primetime” fails to be a deservedly introspective analysis of its subject matter, it does tee up fair questions about its own existence.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Her 2&1 triumph over Auston Kim took Europe to 14 points with Carlotta Ciganda already unassailably three up on the 16th tee.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
It also reminded the user of an upcoming tee time and told the user which hole was going to be the most difficult on the golf course.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
The fresh air felt great for all of ten seconds before it became too cold for somebody wearing a tee and boxers.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
Take a moment to slow down, breathe deep and drink a cup of tea at Jäger TEE, a small family-owned tea shop steps away from the opera.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2022
But he found that physiologists had developed a better way to measure TEE over a day: the doubly labeled water method, which measures TEE without asking a subject to breathe into a hood all day.
From Science Magazine ● Feb. 16, 2022
OFF THE TEE I have one idiosyncrasy that helps my driving accuracy.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 7, 2018
TEE TIMES: Tiger Woods will open Thursday at 12:07 p.m. on the 10th tee in a group with Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 28, 2015
—In answer to the inquiry of TEE BEE, I beg to refer him to vol. iii.
From Notes and Queries, Number 84, June 7, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc. by Various
Since then, Supply Co. has released tees, caps and random items such as rice cookers and folding chairs to commemorate company off sites and research and product milestones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
A much-improved performance against Wales now tees up their final game of this block against Steve Borthwick's England.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Blow Out” tees up an astonishing setup and payoff, yet does so with a graceful simplicity that makes returning to the film edifying no matter how many times you’ve seen it.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Twentysomethings clad in Deftones and Pikachu tees, Dodgers caps, and beaded bracelets joined the procession, snaking from the dance floor through the bar area and back down again.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
I wasn't about to give him an hour's worth of hard-earned money from folding pocket tees.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
After plowing over $5 billion into LIV since it teed off in 2022, the Saudis decided that the golf league was no longer a priority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
She says processing her feelings first and then smoothing out the language teed her up for a more productive dialogue with the recipient.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
The French response was admirable and they edged back in front when replacement Hastoy ran through after being teed up by Attissogbe.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Yes, he only teed up the Dodgers for a 4-0 victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
The Second Part of Rhetoric 89 That teed up what was to follow: the somewhat hangdog expression of national determination that was, a few days later, to lead to the formal declaration of war.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
As of Thursday, two circuits have affirmed the government’s position and six opposed it, teeing up what experts call an inevitable Supreme Court challenge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
For a long time, teeing it up at a major alongside the world's best golfers was nothing more than a pipe dream for the trained mechanic from county Cork.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
I swallowed my pride and announced to my playing partners that I would be teeing off from the silver markers—what used to be known as the senior tees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
The path, in short, is to fix airport lines now by teeing up what later could be the biggest legislative fight of the year.
From Slate ● Mar. 24, 2026
A golden afternoon on the golf course, the fairways lush and green, and he was teeing it up on the first hole.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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.
