teak

[ teek ]

/ tik /

noun

a large East Indian tree, Tectona grandis, of the verbena family, yielding a hard, durable, resinous, yellowish-brown wood used for shipbuilding, making furniture, etc.

the wood of this tree.

any of various similar trees or woods.

Nearby words

Origin of teak

1665–75; earlier teke < Portuguese teca < Malayalam tēkka

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for teak

Here, table, highboy chairs, and screen—mahogany, cherry, teak—looked nervous and disproportioned.
Marco Roth’s Book Bag: The Anti-Memoir Memoir|Marco Roth|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Chase gave Mr. Teak a glance the pathos of which even the soot could not conceal.
Ship's Company, The Entire Collection|W.W. Jacobs
Noticed en route, both on the plains and on the hills, Teak; in the latter situations many of the specimens were very fine.
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and The|William Griffith
If grown in pots, three or four should be potted together and trained to a stout stick or teak rod.
Orchids|James O'Brien

It is not impossible that wood passing as teak may be derived from yet other species.
The Principal Species of Wood: Their Characteristic Properties|Charles H. (Charles Henry) Snow
A small but stout table of teak, with a round top and gate legs, stands against the port wall between the door and the bookcase.
Heartbreak House|George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for teak

teak

/ (tiːk) /

noun

a large verbenaceous tree, Tectona grandis, of the East Indies, having white flowers and yielding a valuable dense wood

the hard resinous yellowish-brown wood of this tree, used for furniture making, etc

any of various similar trees or their wood

a brown or yellowish-brown colour

Word Origin for teak

C17: from Portuguese teca, from Malayalam tēkka

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for teak

teak

type of East Indian tree, 1690s, from Portuguese teca, from Malayam tekka, corresponding to Tamil tekku, Telugu teku, Kanarese tegu.