/ tiːm; NAmE / verb
[ v ] (usually be teeming ) ( of rain ) to fall heavily
SYN pour :
The rain was teeming down.
It was teeming with rain.
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PHRASAL VERBS
- teem with sth
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WORD ORIGIN
teem with sth. Old English tēman , tīeman , of Germanic origin; related to team . The original senses included give birth to , also be or become pregnant , giving rise to be full of in the late 16th cent.
verb Middle English : from Old Norse tœma to empty, from tómr empty. The original sense was to empty, specifically to drain liquid from, pour liquid out ; the current sense (originally dialect) dates from the early 19th cent.