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.
More than 70% of crossbench MPs in this parliament are women, many of them so-called "Teal" candidates who have won in traditionally blue, Liberal seats.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026
In fact, Teal thinks that the tech stocks need the rest of the market to prove that AI doesn’t just benefit the big guys.
From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026
“The economy is demonstrating a goldilocks scenario,” Teal said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
"When you have a market that's priced at perfection, you need all of the external catalysts behind it to keep driving it higher," Mr Teal said.
From BBC • Nov. 20, 2025
Teal because she’s been wearing the same designer tracksuit that an ex-boyfriend gave her six years ago.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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.
