teem

SayTEEMUS/tim//tiːm/

Verbteems, teeming, teemed

Noun pluralteems

10 meanings of teem

Practice

1
verbintransitive
To be very full of living things or activity.
Like a busy market full of people moving everywhere.
In summer, the lake teems with fish.
After the rain, gardens teem with insects.
Similarswarm, abound, bustle, crawl
Note
2
verbintransitive
To be so full that things almost spill over.
Like a closet so packed that things fall out when you open the door.
The toy shop teems with games before the holidays.
Old attics teem with forgotten things.
Similaroverflow, brim, swarm, bristle
Note
3
verbintransitive
To rain very hard.
Like someone tipping a huge bucket of water from the sky.
Rain can teem for hours during the storm season.
It teems outside, so bring an umbrella.
Similarpour, pelt, bucket
Oppositedrizzle
4
verbintransitive
To fall very heavily, like thick snow.
Like flour pouring fast from a torn bag.
Snow can teem down for hours up north.
Thick snow teems over the hills every January.
Similarpour, pelt
Note
5
nouncountable
A heavy fall of rain all at once.
Like a sky-sized bucket of water tipped over at once.
A sudden teem soaked everyone at the picnic.
We waited out the teem under a shop awning.
Similardownpour, deluge, cloudburst
Note
6
verbtransitive
To pour melted metal into a mold.
Like pouring thick syrup from a jug into a cup-shaped mold.
They teem the hot metal into a mold to make the part.
The crew teemed steel into the casting all morning.
Similarpour, cast
Note
7
verbdialectalIrelandScotlandtransitive
To pour the water off cooked food like potatoes.
Like tipping a pot to pour out the water but keep the food.
Teem the potatoes when they are soft.
He teemed the water from the pan into the sink.
Similardrain, strain
Note

Less common meanings

8
verbarchaic
To empty something out.
Like turning a bucket upside down to get everything out.
Teem the water out of the pail.
[The banksman] also puts the full tubs to the weighing machine, and thence to the skreens, upon which he teems the coals. It is also his duty to keep an account of the quantity of coals and stones drawn each day.
1849, G. C. Greenwell, A Glossary of Terms used in the Coal Trade of Northumberland and DurhamHere, teems means empties out, dumping the coals onto the screens.
Note
9
verbobsolete
To give birth to young or produce fruit.
If she must teem, / Create her child of spleen.
c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”Here, teem means have a baby, give birth.
Note
10
verbobsolete
To think something is the right thing to do.
Ah, said he, thou hast confessed and bewrayed all, I could teem it to rend thee in pieces
1603, George Gifford, Dialogue of WitchesHere, teem means think it right, so I could see fit to.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of teem apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–5, 9

From Middle English temen, meaning to bear or support. It goes back to an Old English word meaning to give birth.

Meanings 3, 6–8

From Middle English temen, meaning to drain. It came from an Old Norse word and is related to the idea of emptying.

Meaning 10

From Middle English temen, meaning to be suitable or fitting. It came from an Old English word linked to the idea of fitting.