English UsageGrammar guide

Teeming With: Standard Pattern

Teeming With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.

Quick answer

Use “teeming with” when a place or thing contains very large numbers of people, animals, or things.

Key details

Confusion Familyusage-construction
Rule Familyadjective or complement construction
Termsteeming with

Further guidance

Construction

Use “teeming with” when a place or thing contains very large numbers of people, animals, or things.

Style Boundary

This page records the fixed “teem with” construction and does not imply that every abundance verb selects “with”.

Sources and evidence

Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.

  1. TEEM WITH | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for “teem with” when a place or thing contains many people, animals, or things.

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