tea service
Americannoun
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a set of chinaware for preparing and drinking hot beverages, especially tea.
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a set of silver or other metalware for preparing and serving hot beverages, especially tea.
noun
Etymology
Origin of tea service
First recorded in 1855–60
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.
By the time it reached final inspection it had acquired a cloak of ruby-red metallic paint, diamond-white LED headlamps and a mouthful of metal grillework as bright as a tea service.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
L.A.-based public arts nonprofit Active Cultures hosted a traditional Chinese tea service and cooked mushrooms in a ground oven for a community barbecue with artists Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodriguez and Shanhuan Manton.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2025
Kim gave Putin a traditional Korean sword, while the Russian leader gave Kim a sabre and a tea service suitable for use on his armoured train.
From Reuters • Sep. 11, 2023
Perhaps what appear to be stiff formalities of the traditional English tea service are actually rules enforced for everyone’s safety.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 22, 2023
I glanced nervously at our own house, with no rugs or tea service, but how much did that matter?
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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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.