Also called teeing ground.the starting place, usually a hard mound of earth, at the beginning of play for each hole.
a small wooden, plastic, metal, or rubber peg from which the ball is driven, as in teeing off.
Football. a device on which the ball may be placed to raise it off the ground preparatory to kicking.
verb (used with object),teed,tee·ing.
Golf. to place (the ball) on a tee.
Verb Phrases
tee off,
Golf.to strike the ball from a tee.
Slang.to reprimand severely; scold: He teed off on his son for wrecking the car.
Informal.to begin: They teed off the program with a medley of songs.
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.
Baseball, Softball.to hit (a pitched ball) hard and far: He teed off on a fastball and drove it into the bleachers.
Boxing.to strike with a powerful blow, especially to the head: He teed off on his opponent with an overhand right.
Slang.to make angry, irritated, or disgusted: She was teed off because her dinner guests were late.
in golf, 1721, back-formation from teaz (1673), taken as a plural; a Scottish word of uncertain origin. The original form was a little heap of sand. The verb meaning "place a ball on a golf tee" is recorded from 1673; figurative sense of "to make ready" (usually with up) is recorded from 1938. Teed off in the figurative sense of "angry, annoyed" is first recorded 1953, probably as a euphemism for p(iss)ed off.
