7 useful English expressions for working as a team

Working as a team is an important part of life for most people and there are lots of English idioms and expressions related to teamwork that reflect that. Here are seven of my favourite English expressions for working as a team.

to build a team

This is when you choose who will be part of the team and go through the process of helping them work well together. We can use the expression ‘team building’ as an adjective or verb to talk about this process of cultivating a good working relationship within the team.

“The accounts manager has built a strong team in his department. They go on team building activities every three months.”

to be a team player

To be a person who works well as part of a team.

“I love working with Dan. He’s a real team player.”

to gel

This is when the members of a team have good relationships with each other and work well together.

“We’ve been working together for a month and the team is starting to gel.”

to touch base with someone

This means to get in contact or meet up with someone, generally to discuss progress.

“I’d like you to complete this task then we’ll touch base on Monday to discuss the next steps.”

to catch up with someone

To meet with someone and discuss what you have been doing or working on recently.

“Sorry I haven’t been around much recently. Can we meet on Monday? I’d like to catch up with you about what you’ve been doing for the last month.”

to step on someone’s toes

To do something that might interfere with the way another person wants to do a task.

“I would love to help you by coding the website but Darren is our web designer and I don’t want to step on his toes.”

to bounce ideas off someone

To share an idea with someone and get their opinion on whether it is good or bad.

“I’ve thought about what the poster should look like but can’t make up my mind. Can we meet up so I can bounce some ideas off you?”

Paragraph challenge: Can you use all these expressions in one paragraph? Give it a try in the comments section below.