tee

/tiː/ (bre, ipa) · [tˈi] /tiː/ (ame, ipa) · [tˈi] /ˈtē How to pronounce tee (audio)/ (ame, mw)

tee — noun

  • teesingular
  • teesplural

1. a small support that lifts a golf ball for the first shot on a hole, or the mark

1.名詞B2
釋義

a small support that lifts a golf ball for the first shot on a hole, or the marked place where that opening shot is taken.

例句

Eli pushed the ball deeper into the tee before his first drive.

put the ball on a golf tee

The group met at the first tee just after sunrise.

the tee: starting area for a hole

同義詞
  • teeing area

    refers only to the marked starting place, not the small support itself

  • tee peg

    refers to the small support in the ground, especially in golf equipment talk

用法筆記

Common in golf. It can mean the small peg under the ball or, from context, the place where a hole begins, especially in phrases like first tee.

常見錯誤

❌We waited in the first tee.
✅We waited at the first tee.
💡Use 'at' for the starting area on the course.
❌Put the ball in the tee before you swing.
✅Put the ball on the tee before you swing.
💡The ball rests on top of the support.

2. a small support that keeps a rugby or American football upright before someone k

2.名詞C1
釋義

a small support that keeps a rugby or American football upright before someone kicks it.

例句

The kicker asked Christopher to move the tee a little left.

move the tee before the kick

Rain made the ball slip off the tee before the kickoff.

ball on the tee before kickoff

同義詞
  • kicking tee

    the full sports term for the support used before a kick

  • ball holder

    more general and less sport-specific than tee

用法筆記

Used in rugby and American football. Unlike noun sense 1, this support is for setting up a kick rather than for hitting a golf ball.

常見錯誤

❌The ball fell off tee before the whistle.
✅The ball fell off the tee before the whistle.
💡This countable noun normally takes 'the' when both teams can see the support.
❌He put the ball on the tee and hit it.
✅He put the ball on the tee and kicked it.
💡This sports sense is for a kick, not a golf swing.

3. a T-shirt, especially when people mention it in an easy, casual way.

3.名詞A2
釋義

a T-shirt, especially when people mention it in an easy, casual way.

例句

Nala wore a loose white tee with faded blue jeans.

informal tee = T-shirt

The band sold black tees outside the stadium after the show.

plural tees in casual sales talk

同義詞
  • T-shirt

    the neutral full form used more widely than tee

  • top

    broader term that can mean many kinds of upper-body clothing, not only T-shirts

用法筆記

Informal and common in fashion or everyday speech. In more neutral writing, people often choose T-shirt instead of tee.

常見錯誤

❌She bought three tee this summer.
✅She bought three tees this summer.
💡This clothing sense is countable, so the plural is usually tees.
❌The office requires a tee and tie.
✅The office requires a shirt and tie.
💡A tee is casual and usually means a T-shirt, not formal workwear.

tee — verb