teeming

[ tee-ming ]

/ ˈti mɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR teeming ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

abounding or swarming with something, as with people: We elbowed our way through the teeming station.

prolific or fertile.

Nearby words

Origin of teeming

First recorded in 1525–35; teem¹ + -ing²

Related formsteem·ing·ly, adverbteem·ing·ness, noun

teeming

[ tee-ming ]

/ ˈti mɪŋ /

adjective

falling in torrents: a teeming rain.

Origin of teeming

First recorded in 1685–95; teem² + -ing²

teem

[ teem ]

/ tim /

verb (used without object)

to abound or swarm; be prolific or fertile (usually followed by with).

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

verb (used with object)

Obsolete. to produce (offspring).

Origin of teem

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

SYNONYMS FOR teem

1. overflow, brim, overrun, bristle.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR teem ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsteem·er, noun

teem

[ teem ]

/ tim /

verb (used with or without object)

to empty or pour out; discharge.

Origin of teem

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

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

Examples from the Web for teeming

So for the 12 years he spent at Aldgate, Chaucer was mostly alone, with a teeming urban scene literally beneath his feet.
A Year In The Life of The Canterbury Tales’ Storied Beginnings|Wendy Smith|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ebola causes the body to excrete fluids that are teeming with the virus.
New York Nurses Are the Calm in Ebola’s Storm|Abby Haglage|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Remember those quaint ethnic communities, once teeming with stickball games and eggplant-shaped old women wielding rolling pins?
Weren’t Those the Bad Old Days? The Poison of New York City Nostalgia|Michael Moynihan|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A new study claims breast milk ordered online is teeming with bacteria.
Buy That Breast Milk!|Kent Sepkowitz|October 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST

I hated the concrete, cursed the teeming masses who looked just like me.
I Can’t Shake Hawaii: An Ode to Returning to Places You’ve Been Before|Debra A. Klein|October 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Was she merely a creature bred of the teeming earth, or had she an individuality beyond the earth?
Jess|H. Rider Haggard
Water-beetles, ephemeræ, and the teeming aquatic insects constitute its food.
Poachers and Poaching|John Watson
For the next few days their journey was without adventure, save for the frequent eluding of the monsters of that teeming world.
In the Morning of Time|Charles G. D. Roberts
In place of the natural forest, with its varied and teeming life, we have what Wordsworth called a timber factory.
Wayside and Woodland Trees|Edward Step
In the cool of the evening Spence and Ibrahim rode through the teeming streets to the Governor's house.
When It Was Dark|Guy Thorne

British Dictionary definitions for teeming

teem

/ (tiːm) /

verb

(intr usually foll by with) to be prolific or abundant (in); abound (in)

obsolete to bring forth (young)

Word Origin for teem

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

teem

/ (tiːm) /

verb

(intr; often foll by down or with rain) to pour in torrentsit's teeming down

(tr) to pour or empty out

Derived Formsteemer, noun

Word Origin for teem

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

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 teeming

teeming

adj.

"swarming," 1715, present participle adjective from teem (v.1).

teem

v.1

"abound, swarm," Old English teman (Mercian), tieman (West Saxon) "give birth to, produce," from Proto-Germanic *taumijanan, from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (see duke (n.)). Related to team in its now-obsolete Old English sense of "family, brood of young animals." The meaning "be fertile, abound, swarm" is first recorded 1590s. Related: Teemed; teeming.

teem

v.2

"to flow copiously," c.1300, from Old Norse toema "to empty," from tomr "empty," cognate with Old English tom "empty." The original notion is of "to empty a vessel," thus "to pour out." Related: Teemed; teeming.

teeming

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of teeming

teeming

adjective

Origin of teeming

teem

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Origin of teem

teem

verb (used with or without object)

Origin of teem

Examples from the Web for teeming

teem

verb

Word Origin for teem

teem

verb

Word Origin for teem

teeming

teem

teem