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tee

1 American  
[tee] / ti /

noun

  1. the letter T or t.

  2. something shaped like a T , as a three-way joint used in fitting pipes together.

  3. T-bar.

  4. T-shirt.

  5. the mark aimed at in various games, as curling.

adjective

  1. having a crosspiece at the top; shaped like a T .

idioms

  1. to a tee. T.

tee 2 American  
[tee] / ti /

noun

  1. Golf.

    1. Also called teeing ground.  the starting place, usually a hard mound of earth, at the beginning of play for each hole.

    2. a small wooden, plastic, metal, or rubber peg from which the ball is driven, as in teeing off.

  2. Football. a device on which the ball may be placed to raise it off the ground preparatory to kicking.

verb (used with object)

teed, teeing

  1. Golf. to place (the ball) on a tee.

verb phrase

  1. tee off

    1. Golf. to strike the ball from a tee.

    2. Slang. to reprimand severely; scold.

      He teed off on his son for wrecking the car.

    3. Informal. to begin.

      They teed off the program with a medley of songs.

    4. Baseball, Softball. to make many runs and hits, especially extra-base hits.

      teeing off for six runs on eight hits, including three doubles and a home run.

    5. Baseball, Softball. to hit (a pitched ball) hard and far.

      He teed off on a fastball and drove it into the bleachers.

    6. Boxing. to strike with a powerful blow, especially to the head.

      He teed off on his opponent with an overhand right.

    7. Slang. to make angry, irritated, or disgusted.

      She was teed off because her dinner guests were late.
TEE 3 American  
Or T-E-E

abbreviation

  1. Trans-Europe Express.

tee 1 British  
/ tiː /

noun

  1. a pipe fitting in the form of a letter T, used to join three pipes

  2. a metal section with a cross section in the form of a letter T, such as a rolled-steel joist

  3. any part or component shaped like a T

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
tee 2 British  
/ tiː /

noun

  1. Also called: teeing ground.  an area, often slightly elevated, from which the first stroke of a hole is made

  2. a support for a golf ball, usually a small wooden or plastic peg, used when teeing off or in long grass, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to position (the ball) ready for striking, on or as if on a tee

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
tee 3 British  
/ tiː /

noun

  1. a mark used as a target in certain games such as curling and quoits

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tee1

First recorded in 1600–10

Origin of tee2

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But its ability to monitor restaurant staff tees up a debate about surveillance.

From BBC

With benign conditions turning gusty in the final hour, Morikawa hooked his tee shot on 17 and could only manage a bogey from the oceanside rough.

From Barron's

But they were not to be contained for long as Odsonne Edouard teed up Said to open the scoring in the 24th minute.

From Barron's

Last year’s blitz of bills, capping off years of gradual legislative efforts to remove regulatory barriers to building dense housing across California, has, in Wicks’ view, teed up this next big swing.

From Los Angeles Times

He would lose metres off the tee and out of hand.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.