Meaning & use
English builder's tea
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountableBritishinformal
Strong tea with milk, often with sugar, traditionally drunk by builders and other manual workers in Britain.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'a cup of builder's tea', not 'a builder's tea'.
Patterns
- a cup of builder's tea
- drink builder's tea
- make builder's tea
After a long morning on the site, they stopped for a mug of builder's tea.
He likes his builder's tea strong, with plenty of milk and two sugars.
The café is famous for its builder's tea and bacon sandwiches.
Common combinations
- a mug of builder's tea
- She poured herself a mug of builder's tea.
- strong builder's tea
- He prefers strong builder's tea to fancy coffee.
- make a pot of builder's tea
- Let's make a pot of builder's tea for the team.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strong tea
- A more general term; builder's tea specifically implies milk and often sugar, and is a British cultural reference.
Commonly confused: English builder's tea or builder?
English builder's tea vs builder
A builder is a person who constructs buildings; builder's tea is named after them because it was their traditional drink.
Practice
What is 'builder's tea'?
Choose one answer.
Builder's tea is a British term for strong tea with milk, often with sugar. It is not a literal tea made from tools, nor is it restricted to builders.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “English builder's tea”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.