teem

Everyday

1. To teem with something is to be full of it, crowded with lots of living things moving about: «The pond teemed with tadpoles». tree →
2. (UK, informal) When rain is teeming down, it is raining very heavily. tree →

In the lessons

In science and nature writing, rock pools, rainforests and ponds «teem with life». In stories, streets teem with people. In British weather talk, «It's teeming (down)» means heavy rain. Phrases: «teem with», «teeming with life», «teeming rain».

Examples

• The rock pool was teeming with tiny crabs. tree →
• Rainforests teem with insects and birds. tree →
• It was teeming down, so we stayed inside. tree →
• The market teemed with shoppers. tree →
• The river teems with fish in spring. tree →
• A drop of pond water teems with microbes under the microscope. tree →
• The earth, no longer teeming with fruitfulness, only yielded her increase after much toil and labour. tree →

Note

Homophone trap: «teem» (to be full of) and «team» (a group that plays together) sound the same. «Teem» is almost always in the -ing form or with «with».