What does "teem" mean?
A downpour (of rain).
Teem
/tiːm/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A downpour (of rain).
- Grammar: teem is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: swarm, abound, abound, abound with.
- Useful contrasts: deplete, empty, restrain.
- Usage evidence: But well he knew his teeming pangs were vain, Till Midwife Dryden eas’d his labouring Brain;
How to use "teem"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "teem" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "teem" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "teem" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "teem" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "teem" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "swarm" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "teem", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A downpour (of rain).
"... a teem of rain that poured down so copiously it ran in surface streamlets over the plains. I may literally say we came to anchor this evening in a sheet of water, the prairie, as far as we could see, presenting the same aqueous[…]"
Verb
- 1 To be stocked to overflowing.
"But well he knew his teeming pangs were vain, Till Midwife Dryden eas’d his labouring Brain;"
- 2 To empty. archaic
"[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."
- 3 To think fit. obsolete, rare
"Ah, said he, thou hast confessed and bewrayed all, I could teem it to rend thee in pieces"
- 4 move in large numbers wordnet
- 5 To be prolific; to abound; to be rife.
"Fish teem in this pond."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 To pour (especially with rain)
- 7 be teeming, be abuzz wordnet
- 8 To fall prolifically.
""Troth, it's teemin' powerful this instiant up there in the mountains. 'Twill be much if you land home afore it's atop of you; […]""
- 9 To pour, as steel, from a melting pot; to fill, as a mould, with molten metal.
- 10 To bring forth young, as an animal; to produce fruit, as a plant; to bear; to be pregnant; to conceive; to multiply. obsolete
"If she must teem, / Create her child of spleen."
- 11 To drain the water from (boiled potatoes etc.). Ireland, Scotland
Example
"But well he knew his teeming pangs were vain, Till Midwife Dryden eas’d his labouring Brain;"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "teem"?
Common synonyms include: swarm, abound, abound, abound with, abounded, abounding.
How do you use "teem" in a sentence?
But well he knew his teeming pangs were vain, Till Midwife Dryden eas’d his labouring Brain;
How do you pronounce "teem"?
Pronounced /tiːm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English temen (“to bear, to support”), from Anglian Old English tēman (“to give birth”) (West Saxon Old English tīeman), from Proto-West Germanic *taumijan (“to bridle”), from Proto-Germanic *taumijaną, from *taumaz ("bridle", continued in Modern English as team).
Etymology 2
From Middle English temen (“to drain”), from Old Norse tœma, from Proto-Germanic *tōmijaną (“to empty, make empty”). Related to English toom (“empty, vacant”). More at toom.
Etymology 3
From Middle English temen (“to be suitable, befit”), from Old English *teman, from Proto-Germanic *temaną (“to fit”). Cognate with Low German temen, tamen (“to befit”), Dutch betamen (“to befit”), German ziemen. See also tame (adjective) and compare beteem.