double-team
double-team verb: in sports involving offensive and defensive teams, to use two defensive players to guard against the movements of a single offensive player.
Verb
double-team (third-person singular simple present double-teams, present participle double-teaming, simple past and past participle double-teamed)
- In sports involving offensive and defensive teams, to use two defensive players to guard against the movements of a single offensive player.
- On any given night, Pivotman Macauley was good for at least 18 points a game. But because L.I.U. double-teamed him (he had two men guarding him), he didn't bother to shoot much.1949 January 24, “Stop St. Louis!”, in Time
- To deal with or handle a task or individual person by using a team of two people.
- Obama . . . accused the Clintons of double-teaming him on the campaign trail. "I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes," he said.2008 January 21, Kathy Kiely, “Clinton, Obama step up attacks at South Carolina debate”, in USA Today, retrieved 06 Jan 2009
- Movie buffs will love this costume from Beetlejuice. And even if you don't have someone to double team this look with, each costume can easily slay on its own.2023 September 19, Chaise Sanders, “50 Best Halloween Costumes of All Time, From the Classics to the Truly Unique”, in Cosmopolitan
- To double penetrate someone.
- He and M.J. had double-teamed her—with her consent—on a drunken prom night.2015, Double Lucky. Jackie Collins. 2015.
- To gang up on someone, as a group of two.
- one day they double-teamed her into a closet and threatened to lock her in if she didn't show them her privates.2012, Eleanor Choukas Anderson, Out of Her Shadow, page 557
Forms of double-team
| third-person singular present | double-teams |
|---|---|
| present participle | double-teaming |
| past participle | double-teamed |
| past | double-teamed |
| alternative form | double team |
Questions about double-team
- What does double-team mean?
- Double-team means in sports involving offensive and defensive teams, to use two defensive players to guard against the movements of a single offensive player.
- What part of speech is double-team?
- Double-team is a verb.
- What is the past tense of double-team?
- The past tense of double-team is double-teamed.
Words near double-team in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: double-team (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-double-team.ogg.
Cite this entry: “double-team.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/double-team. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
