Word Confusion: Team versus Teem

Plural for the noun: teams
Gerund: teaming

Third person present verb: teams
Past tense or past participle: teamed
Present participle: teaming

Third person present verb: teems
Past tense or past participle: teemed
Present participle: teeming

Noun:
Treated as singular or plural

• Two or more people working together
• [Informal] Used before another word to form the name of a real or notional group that supports or favors the person or thing indicated
• Two or more animals, especially horses, harnessed together to pull a vehicle

[Agriculture] Two or more horses or other animals harnessed together to draw a vehicle, plow, etc.

A family of young animals, especially ducks or pigs

[Obsolete] Offspring or progeny

• Lineage or stock
• Race of descendants

Verb, intransitive:
[team up, team together, etc.] Come together as a team, a band, or a cooperative effort to achieve a common goal

To drive a team

Verb, transitive:
[Usually team something with] Match or coordinate a garment with another

Harness animals, especially horses, together to pull a vehicle

To join together in a team

[Chiefly Northern U.S.; older use] To convey or transport by means of a team

• Haul

[Of water, especially rain] Pour down ²

• Fall heavily

[Usually followed by with] To abound or swarm

• Be prolific or fertile

[Obsolete] To be or become pregnant

• Bring forth young

To empty or pour out

• Discharge

Verb, transitive:
[Obsolete] To produce offspring ²

To empty or pour out

• Discharge

Let’s make this a team effort.

Wocjikwicz is a team player.

Noun:
The Green Bay Packers is a football team in Wisconsin.

They’ve got enough kids to put together their own baseball team.

They’ve pulled together a team of researchers to work on XYZ.

Are you team Mac or team PC?

We’re totally Team Jenna and support Camp CARE.

Check out the Team GB website for information about the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team.

I took one for the team by naming myself the designated driver.

Have you seen Whitworth’s matched team yet?

Harvey’s bullock team is hauling wool in New South Wales.

The collective nouns for more than one duck range from badelynge, brace, bunch, flock, paddling, raft, and team. I rather like paddling and raft . . . a raft of ducks paddled by . . .

“I am in love; but a team of horse shall not pluck that from me, nor who ’tis I love” (Shakespeare).

Verb, intransitive:
He teamed up with the band to produce the album.

He teamed them together on the project.

Let’s team up.

Verb, transitive:
No, I think the gray pinstripe suit teamed with a crisp white shirt would be a better choice.

The horses are teamed in pairs.

The two teamed up to work on the new budget.

With the rain teeming down at the manor, Italy seemed a long way off.

The pond teemed with tadpoles.

It’s teeming down.

“In like manner, his physiognomical expression seemed to teem with benignity” (Dickens).

Verb, transitive:
“‘Liza, teem a short pint intil this lang Robbie,’ said Matthew” (Caine).

She walked briskly through the teeming streets.

They teemed the molten ore into a huge mold.

Old English tēam meaning team of draft animals is of Germanic origin and related to the German Zaum meaning bridle and is from an Indo-European root shared by the Latin ducere meaning to lead.

1. Old English tēman, tīeman is of Germanic origin and related to team. The original senses included give birth to, also be or become pregnant, which gave rise to be full of in the late 16th century.
2. Middle English from the Old Norse tœma meaning to empty, from tómr meaning empty. The original sense was to empty, specifically to drain liquid from, pour liquid out.

   The current sense (originally dialect) dates from the early 19th century.