teem

¹

[teem]

verb (used without object)

1. to abound or swarm; be prolific or fertile (usually followed bywith ).

   Synonyms: bristle, overrun, brim, overflow

2. Obsolete.,  to be or become pregnant; bring forth young.

verb (used with object)

1. Obsolete.,  to produce (offspring).

teem

²

[teem]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to empty or pour out; discharge.

teem

¹

/ tiːm /

verb

1. to be prolific or abundant (in); abound (in)

2. obsolete,  to bring forth (young)

teem

²

/ tiːm /

verb

1. (intr; often foll by down or with rain) to pour in torrents

   it's teeming down

2. (tr) to pour or empty out

Other Word Forms

• teemer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of teem¹

before 900; Middle English temen, Old English tēman, tīeman to produce (offspring), derivative of tēam team

Origin of teem²

1250–1300; Middle English temen < Old Norse tæma to empty, derivative of tōmr empty, cognate with Old English tōm free from

Word History and Origins

Origin of teem¹

Old English tēman to produce offspring; related to West Saxon tīeman; see _team

Origin of teem²

C15 temen to empty, from Old Norse tœma; related to Old English tōm, Old High German zuomīg empty

Example Sentences

Less than a half-hour from Philadelphia, the Edelman, which opened March 29, takes full advantage of its site, once a sea teeming with marine creatures and, more recently, a glauconite quarry.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

"We used to be teeming with corporate lobbyists, now we are teeming with party members."

Read more on BBC

Within days, it would become a teeming hub of activists, journalists, and members of the public - crowds which will surely gather once again at the new court hearing in Nîmes.

Read more on BBC

And he has seen them descend on Mono Lake when the water is teeming with brine shrimp and the larvae and pupae of alkali flies.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In the sweltering Florida Everglades, surrounded by marshland teeming with alligators and accessible only by a narrow, winding road, lies a facility that’s become a flashpoint in the state’s escalating immigration crackdown.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• brim 
• bustle 
• crawl 
• overflow 
• overrun 
• swarm 
• swell