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team

Pronunciation: /tiːm/

Translate team | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of team

noun

[treated as singular or plural]
  • a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport: the village cricket team his team played well [as modifier]:team members
  • two or more people working together:a team of researchers
  • informal used before another word to form the name of a real or notional group which supports or favours the person or thing indicated:are you team Mac or team PC? we’re totally Team Jenna and can’t wait for this delightful show to return
    [from the way in which some national sports teams are named, e.g. Team GB, Team USA]
  • two or more animals, especially horses, in harness together to pull a vehicle: the abbey’s wagon and a team of horses are gone

verb

  • 1 [no object] (team up) come together as a team to achieve a common goal:he teamed up with the band to produce the disc
  • 2 [with object] (usually team something with) match or coordinate a garment with (another):a pinstripe suit teamed with a crisp white shirt
  • 3 [with object] harness (animals, especially horses) together to pull a vehicle:the horses are teamed in pairs

Phrases

take one for the team

informal, chiefly US willingly underake an unpleasant task or make a personal sacrifice for the greater benefit of one’s friends or colleagues:I took one for the team by naming myself the designated driver

Origin:

Old English tēam 'team of draught animals', of Germanic origin; related to German Zaum 'bridle', also to teem1 and tow1, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin ducere 'to lead'

Do not confuse team with teem. Team means 'a group of people working or playing together' or 'come together as a team to achieve something' (the two governors teamed up against their opponent), whereas teem means 'be full of something' (the seas teemed with fish).

team in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of team in the US English dictionary