teal

American  

[teel] / til /

noun

• teals,
  plural
• teal
  plural

1. any of several species of small dabbling ducks, of worldwide distribution, usually traveling in tight flocks and frequenting ponds and marshes.

2. Also called teal blue. a medium to dark greenish blue.

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teal British  

/ tiːl /

noun

1. 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

2. a greenish-blue colour

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• teal
  plural
• teals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of teal

1275–1325; Middle English tele; akin to Dutch taling, Middle Low German telink

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Compare meaning

How does teal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• teal vs. turquoise
• peacock blue vs. teal

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teal teals

Today, the home still boasts a textured, warm feel, coupled with several color-drenched spaces, such as a dark teal den—and a kitchen with bold green cabinets.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

She animatedly talked to a teal spinning cat track toy, while polydactyl-toed kitty Orbitz lounged behind her in a basket.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 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

A chocolate brown Great Dane puppy with blue eyes and a teal collar sitting on a tile floor gazed at me from my computer screen — I squealed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

You could buy them through the website, and this one was printed to look like the interior of an aquarium with its teal color and pieces of coral.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

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

Seven wing bones from coots and teals were found to have holes bored into them, which mimicked the sound of birds of prey when tested on replicas.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2023

Complementing all the rich blues, teals, berries and greens are the metals, and designers say mixing them up is the way to go now.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 6, 2019

The deep movement of the piece drew me in — the teals and yellows of an otherworldly garden party bouncing from the canvas and radiating something joyful.

From New York Times ● May 28, 2019

Frightful looked down on black ducks, mallards, bluewinged teals, plovers, godwits, yellowlegs, sandpipers—all the migrating birds that loved wetlands.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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Related Words

• blue-green

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