teal
Americannoun
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teals,
plural
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teal
plural
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any of several species of small dabbling ducks, of worldwide distribution, usually traveling in tight flocks and frequenting ponds and marshes.
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Also called teal blue. a medium to dark greenish blue.
noun
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any of various small ducks, such as the Eurasian Anas crecca ( common teal ) that are related to the mallard and frequent ponds, lakes, and marshes
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a greenish-blue colour
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of teal
1275–1325; Middle English tele; akin to Dutch taling, Middle Low German telink
Compare meaning
How does teal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Teal things are colored a deep shade of blue-green, like the sparkling teal water in a tropical lagoon. The color gets its name from a kind of duck, also called a teal. The common teal is a migratory water bird, a duck with a teal stripe on its head and wings. The origin of the word is unclear, but we know the bird came first and then the color—the green-blue teal was first used in print in a 1923 clothing advertisement. It was added as an official color to the Plochere Color System, an interior design reference, in 1948, and became a Crayola crayon color in 1990.
Vocabulary lists containing teal
Blue
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Non-Color Words to Use When Describing Color
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Green
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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.
See Examples For:
Several other independents have ruled out joining, with another two "teal" independents considering their options.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Several local children with the condition joined him for a ceremony to illuminate the building in the campaign colour, teal.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
Last year’s gnome sported a teal polo and held a peach ice cream sandwich, one of the tournament delicacies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
This city taught me how to chase a musician in a teal Ford Tempo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Papi pours the teal paint into the tray and wipes his sweaty chin on his shoulder.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Her outfits blend water-like teals and blue, contrasting with natural floral pinks.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
The flute bones, which came from Eurasian coots and Eurasian teals, were found in the Eynan/Ain Mallaha dig site linked to hunter-gatherers from the final Natufian period 12,000 years ago.
From Reuters ● Jun. 12, 2023
Two blue-winged teals dabble in one pothole that’s sprung back to life with the rains.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2019
Do the real teals, coots and wigeons seem to appreciate his work?
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2019
A flock of blue-winged teals flew with them.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
