tea meaning

UK /tiː/ US /ti/ 1 syllable

tea (noun): a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water.

tea has 5 meanings in this dictionary.

tea as a noun

  1. a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
    • iced tea is a cooling drink

    Type of: beverage

    Kinds: cambric tea, cuppa, herb tea, ice tea, sun tea

  2. a light midafternoon meal of tea and sandwiches or cakes
    • an Englishman would interrupt a war to have his afternoon tea

    Synonyms: afternoon tea, teatime

    Type of: meal

  3. a tropical evergreen shrub or small tree extensively cultivated in e.g. China and Japan and India; source of tea leaves
    • tea has fragrant white flowers

    Synonyms: Camellia sinensis

    Type of: shrub

  4. a reception or party at which tea is served
    • we met at the Dean's tea for newcomers

    Type of: reception

  5. dried leaves of the tea shrub; used to make tea
    • the store shelves held many different kinds of tea
    • they threw the tea into Boston harbor

    Synonyms: tea leaf

    Type of: herb

    Kinds: tea bag, black tea, green tea, oolong

How to pronounce tea

tea is pronounced /tiː/ in British English and /ti/ in American English. It has 1 syllable.

Words that rhyme with tea

Scrabble score: 3 (letter breakdown)

Word lists: words starting with TE · words ending in EA · 3-letter words

More about tea on Wikipedia.