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Teem and team are not just homophones, they are also etymological kin. Teem comes from Old English tīman or tǣman, which originally meant "to bring forth offspring" or "to give birth to.” That word is related to the ancestor of team, the Old English noun tēam, meaning "offspring, lineage, or group of draft animals." Team can still be used to refer to a brood of young animals, especially pigs or ducks, but both teem and team have otherwise largely left their offspring-related senses behind.
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What is the difference between the verbs teem and team?
If you want to describe an overflowing abundance of something, the word you are looking for is teem. We often see reference to "the teeming masses," "streets teeming with activity," or "forests teeming with life." You want the word team if you are trying to describe pairing two or more things in a coordinated ensemble ("she teamed the oxen together"), or forming some kind of partnership or association ("we are teaming with another organization this year").
Examples of teem in a Sentence
Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025
But in Mulligan’s vision, a secret parallel world is teeming between the cracks of concrete.
—Eric Francisco, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2025
The teeming cast includes Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, and Hope Davis.
—Shauna Lyon, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Known for its hyperactivity and teeming crowds of students, office workers, tourists and protesters, Union Square saw 49 business openings last year on top of the 57 opened in 2023, with the culinary sector driving 65 percent of the leasing activity.
—David Moin, WWD, 27 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Teem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teem. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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