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• tee
  tee

  noun

  the letter T or t.
• TEE
  TEE

  abbreviation

  Trans-Europe Express.

tee

¹ American  

[tee] / ti /

noun

1. 

   the letter T or t.

2. something shaped like a T , as a three-way joint used in fitting pipes together.

3. T-bar.

4. T-shirt.

5. the mark aimed at in various games, as curling.

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adjective

1. having a crosspiece at the top; shaped like a T .

idioms

1. to a tee. T.

tee ² American  

[tee] / ti /

noun

1. Golf.

   1. Also called teeing ground. the starting place, usually a hard mound of earth, at the beginning of play for each hole.

   2. a small wooden, plastic, metal, or rubber peg from which the ball is driven, as in teeing off.

2. Football. a device on which the ball may be placed to raise it off the ground preparatory to kicking.

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verb (used with object)

• tees,
  present (3rd person singular)
• teed,
  past participle,  past
• teeing
  present participle

1. Golf. to place (the ball) on a tee.

verb phrase

1. tee off

   1. Golf. to strike the ball from a tee.

   2. Slang. to reprimand severely; scold.

      He teed off on his son for wrecking the car.

   3. Informal. to begin.

      They teed off the program with a medley of songs.

   4. Baseball, Softball. to make many runs and hits, especially extra-base hits.

      teeing off for six runs on eight hits, including three doubles and a home run.

   5. Baseball, Softball. to hit (a pitched ball) hard and far.

      He teed off on a fastball and drove it into the bleachers.

   6. Boxing. to strike with a powerful blow, especially to the head.

      He teed off on his opponent with an overhand right.

   7. Slang. to make angry, irritated, or disgusted.

      She was teed off because her dinner guests were late.

TEE ³ American  

Or T-E-E

abbreviation

1. Trans-Europe Express.

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tee ¹ British  

/ tiː /

noun

1. a pipe fitting in the form of a letter T, used to join three pipes

2. a metal section with a cross section in the form of a letter T, such as a rolled-steel joist

3. any part or component shaped like a T

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tee ² British  

/ tiː /

noun

1. Also called: teeing ground. an area, often slightly elevated, from which the first stroke of a hole is made

2. a support for a golf ball, usually a small wooden or plastic peg, used when teeing off or in long grass, etc

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verb

1. to position (the ball) ready for striking, on or as if on a tee

tee ³ British  

/ tiː /

noun

1. a mark used as a target in certain games such as curling and quoits

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• teeing
  present
• teed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• tee
  simple
• tees
  simple
• have teed
  perfect
• has teed
  perfect
• am teeing
  progressive
• are teeing
  progressive
• is teeing
  progressive
• have been teeing
  perfect progressive
• has been teeing
  perfect progressive

Past

• teed
  simple
• had teed
  perfect
• was teeing
  progressive
• were teeing
  progressive
• had been teeing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will tee
  simple
• will have teed
  perfect
• will be teeing
  progressive
• will have been teeing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of tee¹

First recorded in 1600–10

Origin of tee²

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

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Explanation

In golf, a tee is the small wooden support off of which you hit a golf ball. The word tee is also used more generally for the area of a golf course where you begin a match. Other sports that use a tee include tee ball, American football, and rugby—each of these tees is significantly larger than a golf tee. As a verb, tee means "hit off of a tee," and in golf you "tee off" when play begins. Besides its Scottish origin, not much is known about where this word comes from. Informally, when you're teed off at someone, you're really angry.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tee TEE tees teed teeing

Do I want to have to send out a little digital warrior to fight for me every time I want to book a golf tee time, lest there be none left?

From Slate ● Oct. 14, 2026

Federal prosecutors previously alleged that by quickly nabbing popular early morning tee times almost immediately after they were available to the public, the brothers had “created a monopoly” over Southern California golf courses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026

But though “Primetime” fails to be a deservedly introspective analysis of its subject matter, it does tee up fair questions about its own existence.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

No. If it was up to me and I had to make the decision, I’d wear a white tee and sweats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Hideo nods at the woman in the tee and blazer.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Take a moment to slow down, breathe deep and drink a cup of tea at Jäger TEE, a small family-owned tea shop steps away from the opera.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2022

But he found that physiologists had developed a better way to measure TEE over a day: the doubly labeled water method, which measures TEE without asking a subject to breathe into a hood all day.

From Science Magazine ● Feb. 16, 2022

OFF THE TEE I have one idiosyncrasy that helps my driving accuracy.

From Golf Digest ● Apr. 7, 2018

TEE TIMES: Tiger Woods will open Thursday at 12:07 p.m. on the 10th tee in a group with Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 28, 2015

—In answer to the inquiry of TEE BEE, I beg to refer him to vol. iii.

From Notes and Queries, Number 84, June 7, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc. by Various

It has been selling an assortment of other core ’90s wardrobe staples like baby tees, in addition to slip dresses and leather jackets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Mark Zuckerberg was superglued into those Brunello Cucinelli gray T-shirts until he started wearing oversize Amiri tees in an effort to seem cooler.

From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026

A much-improved performance against Wales now tees up their final game of this block against Steve Borthwick's England.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Chunky platform sandals, fitted baby tees, butterfly clips on perfectly crimped hair, brightly patterned skirts and tons of sparkles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Like when it came to clothes: Zara wore neon-colored tees with funny sayings, even in the most freezing weather.

From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee

The controversy mounted on Saturday, when the course became nearly impossible by the time the final groups teed off.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Before Team Europe teed off at Bethpage Black in September, he photographed the defending Ryder Cup champions in front of the Manhattan Bridge dressed in prohibition-era suits and hats.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the playoffs, putting the Ducks up 1-0.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

This weaseling is probably the same reason that the court teed up Section 2’s constitutionality in an obscure order issued late on a Friday afternoon in August last year.

From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2026

The Second Part of Rhetoric 89 That teed up what was to follow: the somewhat hangdog expression of national determination that was, a few days later, to lead to the formal declaration of war.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Gauff hit a trio of unreturned first serves - all just under the 120mph mark, teeing up three match points as Sonmez buckled on the first after a short rally.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Such is his quality, he went top of the World Cup assists leaderboard by teeing up Gabriel Martinelli's late winner against Japan.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

I swallowed my pride and announced to my playing partners that I would be teeing off from the silver markers—what used to be known as the senior tees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

That it was he who cracked the code against Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen in the fifth inning, teeing off on a three-run, 400-foot home run to left-center field.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

Strike three took dead aim at the kid’s knees, and here was the kid, swooping back and at the same time swatting at the ball like a golfer teeing off.

From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli

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