tee

[tee]

noun

Golf.

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.

Origin of tee

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for teed

Contemporary Examples of teed

Anxious labor activists know well that the Court has teed up a future challenge to all mandatory dues.
The Conservative Case for Unions After the Harris v. Quinn Decision
James Poulos
July 2, 2014
This whole thing is teed up for Romney to get some momentum, you understand that, right?
Final Pre-Debate Thoughts
Michael Tomasky
October 3, 2012
You almost wanted him to clench his teeth, slam his fist, kick the lectern—anything to show that he was teed off.
Aloof, Even in Defeat
Howard Kurtz
November 3, 2010
Sean Hannity teed off on NPR, and had pollster Frank Luntz ask a focus group whether Williams was fired unfairly.
NPR's Juan Williams Disaster
Howard Kurtz
October 21, 2010
The media narrative by now is set in concrete: The voters are teed off, rising up, mad as hell and ready to wreak havoc.
How the Media Blew the Midterms
Howard Kurtz
October 18, 2010

Historical Examples of teed

Teed turned and came back, with an intolerable smirk, straight to the desk.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
Teed was the brightest pupil in his laboratory and he had voted for acquittal.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
Teed reached the end of his junior year with a heap of conditions in the classics.
In a Little Town
Rupert Hughes
A ball so lifted shall be teed if possible behind the place where it lay.
The Complete Golfer [1905]
Harry Vardon
It was replaced, but again flew out, hitting Mr. Teed in the face.
True Ghost Stories
Hereward Carrington

British Dictionary definitions for teed

tee

noun

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

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

any part or component shaped like a T

tee

noun

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

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

verb tees, teeing or teed

(when intr, often foll by up) to position (the ball) ready for striking, on or as if on a tee

Word Origin for tee

C17 teaz, of unknown origin

tee

noun

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

Word Origin for tee

C18: perhaps from T-shaped marks, which may have originally been used in curling

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for teed

tee

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.