Group vs. Team: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
A group is a collection of individuals with no specific common goal, while a team is a group of people working together towards a shared objective.
Key Differences
A group is a gathering of individuals who may share a common interest or context but do not necessarily have a shared goal or task. In contrast, a team is specifically formed for achieving common objectives, where each member contributes towards a unified purpose. Teams often have a sense of shared responsibility and collaboration, which might be less pronounced in groups.
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Nov 15, 2023
The structure within a group can be informal and fluid, without designated roles for each member. However, in a team, roles and responsibilities are usually well-defined to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in achieving the team's goal. This distinction highlights the more organized nature of teams as opposed to the often more casual nature of groups.
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In terms of interaction, members of a group may interact less frequently and their communication might not be goal-oriented. On the other hand, team members typically engage in frequent, goal-focused communication and collaboration, emphasizing teamwork and mutual dependence.
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Decision-making within a group can be independent, with each member making decisions based on personal judgment. In contrast, teams usually engage in collective decision-making, considering the impact of decisions on their shared objective and on each team member.
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Accountability in a group often lies with the individual members for their own actions and contributions. In a team, there's a collective accountability where each member is accountable to one another, and the success or failure is shared among the team members.
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Comparison Chart
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Group and Team Definitions
Group
A number of individuals assembled together or having some unifying relationship.
A group of tourists gathered around the guide.
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Team
A group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport.
The soccer team celebrated their victory enthusiastically.
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Group
A category of people or things having common characteristics.
This group of paintings is from the 19th century.
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Team
A group of people working together on a common project.
The research team published their findings in a renowned journal.
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Group
Several musicians who perform together.
The jazz group performed at the local club every Friday.
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Group
An assemblage of persons or objects gathered or located together; an aggregation
A group of dinner guests.
A group of buildings near the road.
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Team
The members of a team who are actively playing at a given time
After a stellar performance in last week's game, the shooting guard was promoted to the starting team.
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Group
A set of two or more figures that make up a unit or design, as in sculpture.
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Group
A number of individuals or things considered or classed together because of similarities
A small group of supporters across the country.
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Group
(Linguistics) A category of related languages that is less inclusive than a family.
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Group
A military unit consisting of two or more battalions and a headquarters.
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Team
A group of animals exhibited or performing together, as horses at an equestrian show.
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Group
A unit of two or more squadrons in the US Air Force, smaller than a wing.
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Group
Two or more atoms behaving or regarded as behaving as a single chemical unit.
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Group
(Geology) A stratigraphic unit, especially a unit consisting of two or more formations deposited during a single geologic era.
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Group
(Mathematics) A set, together with a binary associative operation, such that the set is closed under the operation, the set contains an identity element for the operation, and each element of the set has an inverse element with respect to the operation. The integers form a group under the operation of ordinary addition.
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Group
Of, relating to, constituting, or being a member of a group
A group discussion.
A group effort.
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Group
To place or arrange in a group
Grouped the children according to height.
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Team
Any group of people involved in the same activity, especially sports or work.
We need more volunteers for the netball team.
The IT manager leads a team of three software developers.
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Group
To belong to or form a group
The soldiers began to group on the hillside.
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Team
(obsolete) A group of animals moving together, especially young ducks.
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Group
A number of things or persons being in some relation to one another.
There is a group of houses behind the hill;
He left town to join a Communist group
A group of people gathered in front of the Parliament to demonstrate against the Prime Minister's proposals.
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Team
A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping, and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes, and villains, and their offspring, or suit, that is, goods and chattels, and appurtenances thereto.
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Group
(group theory) A set with an associative binary operation, under which there exists an identity element, and such that each element has an inverse.
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Team
A group of people who favor one side of a binary debate that is divided and lacks a well-established clear consensus.
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Team
(intransitive) To form a group, as for sports or work.
They teamed to complete the project.
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Group
A (usually small) group of people who perform music together.
Did you see the new jazz group?
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Group
(astronomy) A small number (up to about fifty) of galaxies that are near each other.
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Group
(chemistry) A functional group.
Nitro is an electron-withdrawing group.
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Team
A group of young animals, especially of young ducks; a brood; a litter.
A team of ducklings about her.
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Team
Hence, a number of animals moving together.
A long team of snowy swans on high.
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Team
Two or more horses, oxen, or other beasts harnessed to the same vehicle for drawing, as to a coach, wagon, sled, or the like.
To take his team and till the earth.
It happened almost every day that coaches stuck fast, until a team of cattle could be procured from some neighboring farm to tug them out of the slough.
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Group
(computing) A number of users with the same rights with respect to accession, modification, and execution of files, computers and peripherals.
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Team
A number of persons associated together in any work; a gang; especially, a number of persons selected to contend on one side in a match, or a series of matches, in a cricket, football, rowing, etc.
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Group
An element of an espresso machine from which hot water pours into the portafilter.
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Group
(music) A number of eighth, sixteenth, etc., notes joined at the stems; sometimes rather indefinitely applied to any ornament made up of a few short notes.
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Team
A royalty or privilege granted by royal charter to a lord of a manor, of having, keeping, and judging in his court, his bondmen, neifes, and villains, and their offspring, or suit, that is, goods and chattels, and appurtenances thereto.
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Group
(sports) A set of teams playing each other in the same division, while not during the same period playing any teams that belong to other sets in the division.
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Team
To engage in the occupation of driving a team of horses, cattle, or the like, as in conveying or hauling lumber, goods, etc.; to be a teamster.
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Group
(transitive) To put together to form a group.
Group the dogs by hair colour
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Group
A cluster, crowd, or throng; an assemblage, either of persons or things, collected without any regular form or arrangement; as, a group of men or of trees; a group of isles.
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Group
An assemblage of objects in a certain order or relation, or having some resemblance or common characteristic; as, groups of strata.
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Team
Two or more animals, especially horses, harnessed together to pull a vehicle.
The farmer used a team of oxen to plow the fields.
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Nov 15, 2023
Group
A variously limited assemblage of animals or plants, having some resemblance, or common characteristics in form or structure. The term has different uses, and may be made to include certain species of a genus, or a whole genus, or certain genera, or even several orders.
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Team
A group of people with complementary skills working towards a common goal.
Our sales team exceeded their quarterly targets.
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Group
A number of eighth, sixteenth, etc., notes joined at the stems; - sometimes rather indefinitely applied to any ornament made up of a few short notes.
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Oct 19, 2023
Team
A group organized for intensive research and problem-solving.
The emergency response team arrived at the disaster site promptly.
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Group
To form a group of; to arrange or combine in a group or in groups, often with reference to mutual relation and the best effect; to form an assemblage of.
The difficulty lies in drawing and disposing, or, as the painters term it, in grouping such a multitude of different objects.
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Group
(chemistry) two or more atoms bound together as a single unit and forming part of a molecule
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Group
A set that is closed, associative, has an identity element and every element has an inverse
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Group
A set of elements with a binary operation that satisfies four conditions: closure, associativity, identity, and invertibility.
In mathematics, the set of integers forms a group under addition.
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Group
A subdivision in a classification system.
The new species was added to its appropriate group in the taxonomy.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
Can a group have a structured hierarchy?
Generally, a group has a more informal structure, though some groups can have a hierarchy.
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Are teams always goal-oriented?
Yes, teams are formed with the purpose of achieving specific, shared objectives.
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Is individual accountability a feature of groups?
Yes, in groups, members are often accountable for their actions individually.
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How does communication differ in groups and teams?
Communication in groups may not be goal-oriented, whereas in teams, it is usually frequent and focused on the team’s objectives.
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What is the primary characteristic of a team?
The primary characteristic of a team is its focus on a shared, specific goal, with members working collaboratively.
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Can a group become a team?
A group can evolve into a team if it develops a shared goal and structured collaboration.
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Do groups require leadership?
Leadership in groups is not always necessary or may be less formal.
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What defines a group?
A group is defined as a collection of individuals who may share a common interest or context but do not necessarily work towards a common goal.
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Do team members share responsibility?
Yes, team members share responsibility and are collectively accountable for team outcomes.
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Is there always a clear objective in a group?
Groups do not always have a clear, specific objective like teams do.
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How is success measured in teams?
Success in teams is measured against their ability to achieve their shared objectives.
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What type of decision-making is seen in teams?
Teams typically engage in collective decision-making.
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Is a sports team a good example of a team?
Yes, a sports team is an excellent example, as it works towards the common goal of winning games.
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Are teams more efficient than groups?
Teams, with their structured approach and shared goals, can be more efficient in certain contexts.
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Do teams always have formal roles?
While not always, teams typically have more defined roles than groups.
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Are teams always part of an organization?
Teams are often part of organizations but can also form in informal settings.
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Is teamwork essential in a team?
Yes, teamwork is crucial in a team for achieving common goals.
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Can a team have members from different groups?
Yes, a team can consist of members from various groups, united by a common goal.
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Can a person be part of multiple groups?
Yes, individuals can be part of multiple groups with varying interests.
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Can a group function without regular meetings?
Yes, groups can function without regular meetings, unlike teams which require frequent interactions.
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Nov 15, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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