tea
Pluralteas (some meanings)
Pluralteas (some meanings)
- 1A drink made by soaking dried tea leaves in hot water, served hot or cold.
Like coffee, but made from leaves instead of beans.
She poured herself a cup of tea before bed.
We drank tea on the porch all afternoon.
UsageSay a cup of tea. You make tea.
- 2Dried leaves from the tea plant that you soak in hot water to make a drink.
Like the dried herbs in your kitchen, but used to make a drink.
He bought a tin of loose tea at the market.
This shop sells dozens of teas from around the world.
UsageSay a spoonful of tea.
Note
- 3A drink made like tea but from other plants, such as mint, chamomile, or barley.
She made a nutty tea from roasted buckwheat seeds.
Grandma makes a calming tea from dried chamomile flowers.
- 4A bush whose leaves are dried and used to make a hot drink.
Like a coffee plant, but its leaves are used to make a hot drink.
Farmers grow tea on the steep hillsides of the region.
These mountain slopes are ideal for growing tea.
Note
- 5A small afternoon meal, usually eaten with a cup of tea.
Like an afternoon snack served together with a drink.
She invited the children in for tea, laying out sandwiches and cake.
We had a wonderful tea of scones, jam, and cucumber sandwiches.
UsageSay have tea at four o'clock.
Note
- 6A party in the afternoon, often formal or held to raise money, where guests are given tea and light food.
Our church is having a tea on Sunday to raise money for a new roof.
Grandma wore her best hat to the garden club's spring tea.
UsageSay a tea for the party: a garden tea.
Note
Less common meanings
- 7
- 8The main evening meal, with or without a drink of tea.
Like dinner: the big meal at the end of the day.
We can't go out until after tea. It's nearly six.
He came home from work and asked what was for tea.
UsageUsually used without a or the: what's for tea?, have tea.
Similarsupper
Note
- 9The afternoon break in a cricket match, taken between the second and third parts of play.
Like a coffee break partway through a workday.
The players walked off for tea after a long session.
By tea, our team had scored two hundred runs and lost only three wickets.
UsageSay at tea, like at lunch.
Note
- 10To drink tea, often as a habit or a social thing.
We tea’d with May, and had to wait over an hour for a taxi!
1916, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, “Elizabeth”Here, tea'd means had tea.I dined yesterday at | three on mutton chops and 1/2 pint of E[ast] I [ndian] sherry, and then tead and muffined' at 8.
1837, Benjamin Disraeli, Benjamin Disraeli Letters: 1835-1837Here, tead means had tea.Note
- 11Marijuana, the dried cannabis that people smoke.
Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
1947, William Burroughs, letterHere, tea means marijuana.Jive music and tea were the two most important components of the hipster's life.
1948, Anatole Broyard, “A Portrait of the Hipster”Similarmarijuana
Note
- 12To give tea to someone.
This gentleman was presented by Colonel C. E. S. Wood, and was entertained here—wined, dined, tead, breakfasted, coffeed and luncheoned—and we bought his pictures.
1909, The PublicHere, tead means given tea.Note
- 13
- 14A short length of time, about how long it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
The word came into English around 1655 from Dutch "thee," which the Dutch got from the Hokkien Chinese word for tea.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The word entered English around 1655. en.wiktionary.org
- English borrowed tea from Dutch thee. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch thee derives from the Hokkien Chinese word for tea. en.wiktionary.org