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• tea party
  tea party

  noun

  a social gathering, usually in the afternoon, at which tea and light refreshments are served.
• Tea Party
  Tea Party

  noun

  (in the US) a political movement, associated with the right wing of the Republican Party, favouring reduction in taxation and government spending

tea party

American  

noun

• tea parties
  plural

1. a social gathering, usually in the afternoon, at which tea and light refreshments are served.

2. (initial capital letters) a conservative political movement in the U.S. that opposes taxes and government spending: named in reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773.

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Tea Party ¹ British  

noun

1. (in the US) a political movement, associated with the right wing of the Republican Party, favouring reduction in taxation and government spending

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tea party ² British  

noun

1. a social gathering in the afternoon at which tea is served

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tea parties
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tea party

First recorded in 1770–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tea party Tea Party

Albie-Junior Thomas, from Holywell, Flintshire, was invited for a tea party at Windsor Castle after his father sent a letter describing how he had climbed the highest mountains in Wales, Scotland and England.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Maybe you could call it a tea party wokeness, purged of pedants and scolds.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

Vibes: cursed tea party, haunted cottage, abandoned in a mansion.

From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2026

BOSTON—The home of a famous 1773 tea party is revolting again, this time over coffee.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

She put a doll in the grass beside each cup, making it look as much like a doll’s tea party as she could.

From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman

It’s the kind of fraught moment that reminds Brendan Steinhauser of his involvement in the creation of the Tea Party a generation ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Coming upon the Boston Tea Party, it’s inevitable he’ll whine about not being invited.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

And around the corner, by the Fort Point Channel and near the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, sits rival Wellington.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

He caught the eye of Bill Montgomery, a retired businessman and Tea Party activist more than 50 years his senior, who took Kirk under his wing.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025

He had been in the crowd involved in the Boston Massacre and later took part in the Boston Tea Party.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

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