teem
1 Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
-
to be prolific or abundant (in); abound (in)
-
obsolete to bring forth (young)
verb
-
(intr; often foll by down or with rain) to pour in torrents
it's teeming down
-
(tr) to pour or empty out
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
If your neighborhood seems to teem with cats, that means there are a lot of cats running around. When something teems, it swarms or overflows with a large number of things. Don't confuse teem with team. The two words may sound the same, but they have different meanings. Use the noun team when describing a group of people with a common goal, and turn to the verb teem for those times when you need to say that something is overflowing or crowded. Teem is almost always used with the preposition with, as when the busy streets teem with activity.
Vocabulary lists containing teem
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“To have a kindergartner and a fifth grader who have social emotional needs in the same program — while numbers wise it makes sense, support wise and investment wise it doesn’t,” Teem said.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2021
Kindergarten through fifth grade students in special education classes will all have to be in the same class at Highland Park, a 20-year special education teacher Lesley Teem said.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2021
Teem with hubris Icarus quickly forgot his father's advice and fell to his death.
From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2018
So Captain Martin Teem sent a sergeant of Massachusetts infantry to a nearby island to round up help.
From Time Magazine Archive
Confess'd by men whom friends have flayed, Teem in the wind-swept, shatter'd strands— Blind batter'd keels that know no rest 'Mid surge of moans that tombs have spilt.
From Betelguese A Trip Through Hell by de Esque, Jean
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
