tea towel
Americannoun
-
tea towels
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tea towel
First recorded in 1870–75
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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.
A textile artist from north-west London says she is "so so so happy" after a box containing 206 pieces of her tea towel art display was returned, after she thought it had been lost.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Pullman moved a nearby tea towel to reveal half a dozen custard creams.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025
Remove bowl from mixer, cover with a tea towel or plate, and rest dough for 20 minutes.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2023
She shoots all of her colorful rice bowls, lush salads and pots of long-simmered soup on her white-marble countertops, occasionally accented with a dusting of spilled spices or a strategically haphazard tea towel.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2023
We squabble in whispers and monosyllables about whose turn it is to wash: drying with a clammy tea towel isn’t as good as washing, which warms up your hands.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.