tea - What does it mean?
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Definition of 'tea'Noun
(uncountable) The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant, .
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(uncountable) The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water.
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* {{quote-book|year=1922|author=(Ben Travers)|title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
|chapter=2 citation
|passage=Mother
(countable) A variety of the tea plant.
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(uncountable) By extension, any drink made by infusing parts of various other plants.
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A cup of any one of these drinks, often with a small amount of milk or cream added and sweetened with sugar or honey.
(countable|Southern US) A glass of iced tea, typically served with ice cubes and sometimes with a slice or wedge of lemon.
(uncountable|UK) A light meal eaten mid-afternoon, typically with tea.
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(uncountable|New Zealand|British|Australia) The main evening meal, irrespective of whether tea is drunk with it.
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(cricket) The break in play between the second]] and [[third session|third sessions.
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(slang|dated) Marijuana.
* 1940 , (Raymond Chandler), Farewell, My Lovely , Penguin 2010, page 103:
- So they were evidence. Evidence of what? That a man occasionally smoked a stick of tea , a man who looked as if any touch of the exotic would appeal to him. On the other hand lots of tough guys smoked marijuana .
* 1946 , (Mezz Mezzrow) and (Bernard Wolfe), Really the Blues , Payback Press 1999, page 74:
- Tea puts a musician in a real masterly sphere, and that's why so many jazzmen have used it.
* 1947 , (William Burroughs), letter, 11 Mar 1947:
- Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
Usage notes
In many places tea is assumed to mean hot tea, while in the southern United States, it is assumed to mean iced tea.
Synonyms
* (dried leaves of tea plant) tea leaves
* (drink made by infusing parts of various other plants) herb tea, herbal tea, infusion, tisane
Derived terms
* afternoon tea
* all the tea in China
* bed tea
* black tea
* builder's tea
* camomile tea
* cream tea
* cup of tea
* Devonshire tea
* fruit tea
* green tea
* herb tea, herbal tea
* herbal tea
* high tea
* iced tea
* Long Island iced tea
* morning tea
* mint tea
( rel-mid3)
* red tea
* rooibos tea
* sugar honey ice tea
* tea and toaster
* teabag
* teaberry
* teaboy
* tea break
* tea caddy
* teacake
* tea cart
* tea ceremony
* tea cloth
* tea cosy
* teacup
* teahouse, tea house
* teakettle
* tea leaf (Cockney rhyming slang)
( rel-mid3)
* tea leaves
* tea pad
* tea party
* tea plant
* teapot
* tea room
* tea service
* teaspoon
* tea strainer
* teatime
* tea towel
* tea tray
* tea trolley
* tea urn
* tea wagon
* white tea
( rel-bottom)
Verb
( en-verb)
To drink tea.
To take afternoon tea (the light meal).
* 1877 , The Bicycling Times and Tourist's Gazette (page 38)
- The wind was high and the hills ditto, and both being against us we were late in reaching Hitchin (30 from Cambridge), so giving up the idea of reaching Oxford we toiled on through Luton, on to Dunstable (47), where we teaed moderately
References
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