teetotaler
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of teetotaler
Explanation
If you are a teetotaler, you stay away from drinking alcoholic beverages. Some people assume that teetotaler and the related word teetotal were coined to refer to people who totally abstained from drinking anything stronger than tea, but this is incorrect. (Note the spelling difference of the prefix tee.) One theory on the words' origins is that a man called Dicky Turner stuttered in an 1833 speech in Preston, England. He claimed that moderation was not sufficient, instead pledging "t-t-total" abstinence.
Vocabulary lists containing teetotaler
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This Week In Culture: Current Events Vocab for September 26–October 2, 2020
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Black Swan Green
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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.
My New Year’s resolution is to do something similar: I plan to become a social-media teetotaler in 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026
Gardner’s dad was Soda Pop, since he was a teetotaler.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2025
“We just lose the teetotaler vote with ours, whereas they’re pissing off half the country,” Gallagher said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2023
“The fact that the first person that starts collecting them in England is a pro-socialist vegetarian teetotaler who believes dwarfs and little folk are real is not a great way to establish their legitimacy.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2023
A teetotaler himself, he made his living buying and selling liquor.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
