teal
Americannoun
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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
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.
The show opens with a Warhol self-portrait from 1986—an imposing nearly 7-foot-tall image of the artist in teal, his spiked hair making him seem like another New York icon, Lady Liberty.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 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
In another reality/fiction crossover, many noticed that Ivanka Trump’s inauguration outfit resembled Serena Joy’s tailored teal gowns.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2025
The deep, warm blue-green of teal is a colour that he most associates with Brussels.
From BBC • Sep. 13, 2024
He even knew her favorite color, which was teal.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
