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:
Do I want to have to send out a little digital warrior to fight for me every time I want to book a golf tee time, lest there be none left?
From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026
They were so close to victory that they could almost tee up “Fly, Eagles Fly.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Federal prosecutors previously alleged that by quickly nabbing popular early morning tee times almost immediately after they were available to the public, the brothers had “created a monopoly” over Southern California golf courses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 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
She was wearing the same light-blue tee shirt and black yoga pants that she'd been in the last time Hazel saw her, but they were now faded and frayed.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
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
It’s also branching beyond jeans into ’90s throwbacks like slip dresses, baby tees and leather jackets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Mark Zuckerberg was superglued into those Brunello Cucinelli gray T-shirts until he started wearing oversize Amiri tees in an effort to seem cooler.
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
For golf courses this means the greens and tees can be irrigated but the fairways cannot.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
By the end, screenwriter Ana Nogueira tees up some compelling moral dilemmas about the ethics of revenge, but Gillespie’s direction fails to entertain them with the weight they deserve.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
They were artsy misfits who dressed exclusively in concert tees and ragged flannels, and it was those brooding qualities that intrigued me more than the cookie-cutter athlete and cheerleader types.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
In the 76th minute, Messi completed his hat-trick, having been teed up by substitute Nico Gonzalez.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
That doesn’t include Sunshine’s deal or the IPOs being teed up by SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI, which are expected to be among the largest ever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the playoffs, putting the Ducks up 1-0.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
Mr. Trump has also teed up new tariffs under Section 301 against specific countries for allegedly unfair trade practices, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says will soon be unveiled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 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
But Gyokeres had just 12 touches before being replaced and Kai Havertz, as he so often does, looked a much better and more natural fit for the Arsenal frontline, teeing up Saka's goal too.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Holy Trinity Tattoo Studio in Standish managed to squeeze Sean in before England took on Norway in the quarter final, teeing up Wednesday night's mouth-watering semi against old foes Argentina.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The players who will bear the worst of it will be those teeing off last—otherwise known as the guys atop the leaderboard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
That it was he who cracked the code against Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen in the fifth inning, teeing off on a three-run, 400-foot home run to left-center field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 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
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