team

[teem]

noun

1. a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest.

   a football team.

2. a number of persons associated in some joint action.

   a team of advisers.

3. two or more horses, oxen, or other animals harnessed together to draw a vehicle, plow, or the like.

4. one or more draft animals together with the harness and vehicle drawn.

5. a family of young animals, especially ducks or pigs.

6. Obsolete.,  offspring or progeny; lineage or stock.

verb (used with object)

1. to join together in a team.

2. Chiefly Northern U.S. Older Use.,  to convey or transport by means of a team; haul.

verb (used without object)

1. to drive a team.

2. to gather or join in a team, a band, or a cooperative effort (usually followed by up, together, etc.).

   Synonyms: merge, ally, unite, combine

adjective

1. of, relating to, or performed by a team.

   a team sport; team effort.

team

/ tiːm /

noun

1. a group of people organized to work together

2. a group of players forming one of the sides in a sporting contest

3. two or more animals working together to pull a vehicle or agricultural implement

4. such animals and the vehicle

   the coachman riding his team

5. dialect,  a flock, herd, or brood

6. obsolete,  ancestry

verb

1. to make or cause to make a team

   he teamed George with Robert

2. (tr) to drag or transport in or by a team

3. (intr) to drive a team

Grammar Note

See collective noun.

Other Word Forms

• interteam adjective
• underteamed adjective
• unteamed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of team¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English teme (noun), Old English tēam “child-bearing, brood, offspring, set of draft beasts”; cognate with Dutch toom “bridle, reins,” German Zaum, Old Norse taumr

Word History and Origins

Origin of team¹

Old English team offspring; related to Old Frisian tām bridle, Old Norse taumr chain yoking animals together, Old High German zoum bridle

Example Sentences

Palisades swept the boys’ and girls’ team titles for the second time in three years, the boys winning their fifth in a row and both claiming their eighth overall.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Metro and the Dodgers have been in talks over Metro’s request for the team to help pay for the Dodger Stadium Express.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And with both of those elements, it’s it’s a team environment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The Lakers confirmed that Joey and Jesse Buss, who both had been executives with the team, are no longer with the franchise.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"A lot of people are doing great things on this team to help me, the defense is playing great and we've just got to keep going," Maye said.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• club 
• company 
• lineup 
• organization 
• party 
• side 
• squad 
• unit 

When To Use

What does team mean?

A team is a group of people who work together in a joint action, as in Our Academic Decathlon team was made up of some of the smartest kids in our school.A team is also a group of people on one side of a contest or game, such as a soccer team or a trivia team.A team is also two or more draft animals, such as horses, harnessed together to pull something, like a plow or a cart.To team up is to form a group to work together, as in Miles and Lex teamed up to study for the big science test next month.Example: My team is working hard on these software solutions for streaming platforms.