Meanings
plural builder's teas
- UKuncountableBlack tea, brewed strong and served in a large mug with milk and often sugar.
The meal should be taken with milky "builder's tea" steeped strong in the mug.
2008, William Morrow, Beef: The untold story of how milk, meat and muscle shaped the world, →ISBN, page 1773 more examples
It has got the lot, this, underneath its hinged awning: eggs any way, sausage, old-fashioned burgers and builders' tea.
2001 March 30, Stephen Moss, “Meals on wheels”, in The GuardianI ate a kebab in a Cypriot cafe with the freezing rain spatting in the doorway and I was poured a soup-like cup of builder's tea.
2005, Barbara Bailey, An eccentric marriage: Living with Jim, →ISBN, page 185Armed with a cup of Alison's strong, thick, builder's tea, Mrs Jamal started falteringly into the story she had told countless times to sceptical police officers and lawyers.
2010, M. R. Hall, The Disappeared, →ISBNSynonyms: builder's brew
- UKcountableA serving thereof.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounBlack tea, brewed strong and served in a large mug with milk and often sugar.
Origin
From builder + -'s + tea, from its supposedly being the preferred type of tea of British builders and construction workers.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
builder's tea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/builder's%20tea
“builder's tea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/builder's%20tea. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “builder's tea,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/builder's%20tea.
Source: builder's tea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.