team
A1Neutral (used in all registers from informal to formal)
Definition
Meaning
A group of people working together toward a common goal, often in a sport, work, or project context.
A set of two or more animals (e.g., a team of oxen/horses) yoked together; a coordinated group of individuals or things functioning as a unit (e.g., a design team, a management team).
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The word implies cooperation, coordination, and shared purpose. It can refer to both the group as a collective entity ('The team is successful') and its members ('The team are arguing'). The latter, plural concord is more common in British English.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
In BrE, collective nouns like 'team' more readily take plural verbs and pronouns ('The team are playing well'). In AmE, singular agreement is strongly preferred ('The team is playing well').
Connotations
Highly positive in both varieties, associated with collaboration, synergy, and collective effort. No significant difference.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both varieties, with no notable divergence.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
Team + of + [professionals/players/experts] (a team of engineers)Team + [collective verb] + [action] (The team has decided/The team have decided)Be part of a teamWork as a teamVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Team up with someone”
- “A team player”
- “The whole team and (the) kit (BrE, informal for many people)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to a group of employees assigned to a specific project, department, or function. Central to modern corporate culture.
Academic
Used in research contexts (research team), group projects, and pedagogical discussions about collaborative learning.
Everyday
Most commonly associated with sports (football team) and any collaborative activity among friends or family.
Technical
In IT/development: scrum team, dev team, ops team. In logistics: a team of drivers.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- They decided to team up for the charity quiz.
- The two departments were teamed together on the new initiative.
American English
- The companies teamed up to develop the new software.
- They teamed him with an experienced mentor.
adverb
British English
- (No standard adverbial form. 'As a team' is used.) They worked as a team to finish the project.
American English
- (No standard adverbial form. 'Together' is used.) Let's work together as a team on this.
adjective
British English
- It was a real team effort to get the festival ready.
- She has excellent team skills.
American English
- Good team dynamics are essential for success.
- We need a team approach to solve this.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I play football in a team.
- Our class is a good team.
- He is on the school basketball team.
- The project team meets every Monday morning.
- We need to work as a team to win.
- She's a valuable member of our sales team.
- The management team is reconsidering its strategy in light of the new data.
- A crack team of investigators was assembled to handle the case.
- There's a palpable lack of team spirit in the office at the moment.
- Despite initial friction, the cross-functional team synergised remarkably well, delivering the prototype ahead of schedule.
- The diplomatic team engaged in protracted negotiations to broker a fragile ceasefire.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of the word 'TEAM' as an acronym: 'Together Everyone Achieves More'.
Conceptual Metaphor
A TEAM IS A MACHINE (well-oiled team, the team is firing on all cylinders); A TEAM IS A FAMILY (team bonding, team brotherhood).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating "команда" as 'command'. 'Command' is an order or instruction. The correct equivalent for a group is 'team'.
- Do not confuse 'team' (коллектив, команда) with 'brigade' (бригада), which has a more specific, often military/industrial connotation in English.
Common Mistakes
- Using a plural verb with 'team' in American English ('The team are good' is AmE incorrect).
- Using 'team' as a countable noun without an article when it should have one ('He is part of team' is incorrect; 'He is part of a/the team' is correct).
Practice
Quiz
In American English, which sentence is grammatically correct?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a countable noun. You can have a team, two teams, several teams.
A 'team' strongly implies active collaboration toward a shared objective, often with assigned roles. A 'group' is more general; it can be any collection of people, with or without a common goal (e.g., a group of tourists).
Yes, primarily in the phrasal verb 'team up' (to join together for a common purpose) or transitively as 'to team someone with someone else' (to put people together in a team).
Both are used. 'On the team' is more common in American English and for sports contexts. 'In the team' is more common in British English. Neither is incorrect.
Collections
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