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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

Etymology

Origin of tea party

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tea party Tea Party

Ventura resident Michelle Shock and her 8-year-old daughter, Fable, initially came to the Huntington for a tea party at the Rose Garden, and dressed for the part in light-colored, semi-formal dresses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

With so many stations closed or short on gas, it felt like the Mad Hatter’s tea party paradox: “Jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

Ostensibly, this was simply a tea party; in reality, it brought together like-minded souls who had known one another since the prewar era.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

Once the press gets wind that Mary’s marriage has ended, the gossip is relentless, and the one-time belle of the ball can’t rustle up so much as a small tea party.

From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2025

They had a tea party right on my table.

From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney

His father-in-law was a merchant who received the tea that provoked the Boston Tea Party in 1773.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 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

Earlier Wednesday, a number of Oscar precursor events, including the British Academy of Film and TV Arts Tea Party, the AFI Awards luncheon and the Critics Choice Awards, were postponed or canceled.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025

I closed my bedroom door, sat on the edge of my bed, and turned the pages until I came to Chapter VII, the chapter called "A Mad Tea Party."

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg