Team Definition & Meaning

American

British

Grammar

Usage

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms team American [teem] / tim /

noun

1. a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest.

   a football team.

2. a number of persons associated in some joint action.

   a team of advisers.

3. two or more horses, oxen, or other animals harnessed together to draw a vehicle, plow, or the like.

4. one or more draft animals together with the harness and vehicle drawn.

5. a family of young animals, especially ducks or pigs.

6. Obsolete. offspring or progeny; lineage or stock.

verb (used with object)

1. to join together in a team.

2. Chiefly Northern U.S. Older Use. to convey or transport by means of a team; haul.

verb (used without object)

1. to drive a team.

2. to gather or join in a team, a band, or a cooperative effort (usually followed by up, together, etc.).

   Synonyms: merge, ally, unite, combine

adjective

1. of, relating to, or performed by a team.

   a team sport; team effort.

team British / tiːm /

noun

1. a group of people organized to work together

2. a group of players forming one of the sides in a sporting contest

3. two or more animals working together to pull a vehicle or agricultural implement

4. such animals and the vehicle

   the coachman riding his team

5. dialect a flock, herd, or brood

6. obsolete ancestry

"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

verb

1. to make or cause to make a team

   he teamed George with Robert

2. (tr) to drag or transport in or by a team

3. (intr) to drive a team

"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

Grammar

See collective noun.

Usage

What does team mean? A team is a group of people who work together in a joint action, as in Our Academic Decathlon team was made up of some of the smartest kids in our school.A team is also a group of people on one side of a contest or game, such as a soccer team or a trivia team.A team is also two or more draft animals, such as horses, harnessed together to pull something, like a plow or a cart.To team up is to form a group to work together, as in Miles and Lex teamed up to study for the big science test next month.Example: My team is working hard on these software solutions for streaming platforms.

Other Word Forms

• interteam adjective
• underteamed adjective
• unteamed adjective

Etymology

Origin of team

First recorded before 900; Middle English teme (noun), Old English tēam “child-bearing, brood, offspring, set of draft beasts”; cognate with Dutch toom “bridle, reins,” German Zaum, Old Norse taumr

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.

The team is also interested in testing related mental abilities, such as thinking about the future or understanding what others might be thinking.

From Science Daily

He started 13 games as a rookie, and then moved with the team from St. Louis to Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

Julia Lawson, an environmental scientist with the department, said in a statement that her team was thrilled to reach this milestone.

From Los Angeles Times

I am 100% sure that it is a team effort, and it is not only one person.

From BBC

And unlike in the team event, where he made errors and was somewhat style over substance, this was an ominously clean routine from the 21-year-old – and he even threw in a backflip for good measure.

From BBC

Related Words

• club
• company
• lineup
• organization
• party
• side
• squad
• unit

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.