tea

noun

• 1a hot drink made by infusing the dried, crushed leaves of the tea plant in boiling water.
• the dried leaves used to make tea.
• [usually with adjective or noun modifier] a hot drink made from the infused leaves, fruits, or flowers of other plants:herbal tea fruit teas

• 2 (also tea plant) the evergreen shrub or small tree that produces tea leaves, native to South and eastern Asia and grown as a major cash crop.

  • Camellia sinensis, family Theaceae

• 3chiefly British a light afternoon meal consisting typically of tea to drink, sandwiches, and cakes.
• British a cooked evening meal. See also high tea.