team

[teem]

noun

1. a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest.

   a football team.

2. a number of persons associated in some joint action.

   a team of advisers.

3. two or more horses, oxen, or other animals harnessed together to draw a vehicle, plow, or the like.

4. one or more draft animals together with the harness and vehicle drawn.

5. a family of young animals, especially ducks or pigs.

6. Obsolete.,  offspring or progeny; lineage or stock.

verb (used with object)

1. to join together in a team.

2. Chiefly Northern U.S. Older Use.,  to convey or transport by means of a team; haul.

verb (used without object)

1. to drive a team.

2. to gather or join in a team, a band, or a cooperative effort (usually followed by up, together, etc.).

   Synonyms: merge, ally, unite, combine

adjective

1. of, relating to, or performed by a team.

   a team sport; team effort.

team

/ tiːm /

noun

1. a group of people organized to work together

2. a group of players forming one of the sides in a sporting contest

3. two or more animals working together to pull a vehicle or agricultural implement

4. such animals and the vehicle

   the coachman riding his team

5. dialect,  a flock, herd, or brood

6. obsolete,  ancestry

verb

1. to make or cause to make a team

   he teamed George with Robert

2. (tr) to drag or transport in or by a team

3. (intr) to drive a team

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

• interteam adjective
• underteamed adjective
• unteamed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of team¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English teme (noun), Old English tēam “child-bearing, brood, offspring, set of draft beasts”; cognate with Dutch toom “bridle, reins,” German Zaum, Old Norse taumr

Word History and Origins

Origin of team¹

Old English team offspring; related to Old Frisian tām bridle, Old Norse taumr chain yoking animals together, Old High German zoum bridle

Example Sentences

It was his show of leadership after so many workouts and his way to help build that team chemistry.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

People can wager money on whether a team will win a game or players will score a certain amount of points.

Read more on MarketWatch

This battle between Team USA and Europe at Bethpage Black is also a proxy war between rival flotillas of wonks and analysts who advise both teams.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Just a few years ago, before the College Football Playoff expanded to a dozen teams, losing a game like Saturday’s would have put a team’s championship hopes on life support.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“If you were to ask me, ‘What would the identity of the American team look like?’ three words come to mind—speed, skill and will.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• club 
• company 
• lineup 
• organization 
• party 
• side 
• squad 
• unit 

When To Use

What does team mean?

A team is a group of people who work together in a joint action, as in Our Academic Decathlon team was made up of some of the smartest kids in our school.A team is also a group of people on one side of a contest or game, such as a soccer team or a trivia team.A team is also two or more draft animals, such as horses, harnessed together to pull something, like a plow or a cart.To team up is to form a group to work together, as in Miles and Lex teamed up to study for the big science test next month.Example: My team is working hard on these software solutions for streaming platforms.