teem
gb/tˈim/ us/tˈim/
C1
English
hemzseg, nyüzsög, szakad
VERB
C1
1
Usage pattern:
[place] teems with [people/animals/things]
In summer, the lake teems with fish.
Nyáron a tó hemzseg a halaktól.
The market teemed with shoppers on Saturday morning.
Szombat reggel a piac nyüzsgött a vásárlóktól.
Her novels teem with vivid minor characters.
Learner examples
The park teems with birds in spring.
Tavasszal a park hemzseg a madaraktól.
The city teems with people at night.
Éjszaka a város nyüzsög az emberektől.
Common mistake:
Use "teem with," not "teem of."
Meaning
be full of many things
Collocations
teem with life
|teem with people
|teem with tourists
|teem with fish
|teem with wildlife
|teem with activity
|teem with possibilities
|teem with ideas
|teem with rumors
|teem with bacteria
Synonyms
abound (Slightly more formal; focuses on large quantity.)
|
swarm (Suggests moving crowds or masses, often of insects or people.)
|
be rife with (Often used for something negative (e.g., crime, errors).)
Antonyms
lack (Means not to have enough of something.)
|
be devoid of (Emphasizes total absence.)
Themes
nature
|society
|description
Definition
If a place teems with something, it has a lot of it.
To be full of or contain a very large number of people, animals, or things.
VERB
C1
INFORMAL
2
szakad
A2
Usage pattern:
It is/was teeming (down) (with rain).
We stayed inside because it was teeming outside.
Bent maradtunk, mert kint szakadt az eső.
It started teeming down just as we left the station.
Épp akkor kezdett szakadni az eső, amikor kijöttünk az állomásról.
By the time we arrived, the rain had been teeming for hours.
Learner examples
It is teeming today.
Ma szakad az eső.
It was teeming when I went out.
Szakadt az eső, amikor kimentem.
Common mistake:
This meaning is mainly British; in other varieties, "pour (with rain)" is more common.
Meaning
rain very heavily
Collocations
it was teeming
|it’s teeming outside
|teeming down
|teeming with rain
|teeming rain
Synonyms
pour (More widely used across varieties of English.)
|
bucket down (Very informal and vivid.)
Antonyms
clear up (The rain stops and the sky becomes clear.)
|
let up (The rain becomes less heavy or stops.)
Themes
weather
|daily_life
Definition
If it’s teeming, it’s raining a lot.
To rain very heavily (common in British English, often with "down").
Grammar
Dictionary form
teem
IPA
GB/tˈim/
US/tˈim/
Syllables & stress
teem (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (teem)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: teem
- 3rd Person Singular: teems
- Present Participle: teeming
- Past: teemed
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.