teal
Americannoun
plural
teals,plural
teal-
any of several species of small dabbling ducks, of worldwide distribution, usually traveling in tight flocks and frequenting ponds and marshes.
-
Also called teal blue. a medium to dark greenish blue.
noun
-
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
-
a greenish-blue colour
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.
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
After Porkchop swam off, several aquarium staffers gathered trash from the river, including roughly 20 golf balls, a Volkswagen car emblem, cut-up credit card, teal plastic line, a bottle cap.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
RFK had sweated through a teal t-shirt, which he had tucked into blue jeans.
From Salon • Aug. 20, 2025
I sat in the lobby, staring at a painted portrait of Edwards on the wall, platinum blond bob on a teal background.
From Slate • Jun. 19, 2025
Fish jump from nearby fountains, changing from ruby to teal mid-flight, teasing onlookers.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
