cable

[ key-buhl ]
See synonyms for cable on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a heavy, strong rope.

  2. a very strong rope made of strands of metal wire, as used to support cable cars or suspension bridges.

  1. a cord of metal wire used to operate or pull a mechanism.

  2. Nautical.

    • a thick hawser made of rope, strands of metal wire, or chain.

  3. Electricity. an insulated electrical conductor, often in strands, or a combination of electrical conductors insulated from one another.

  4. Architecture. one of a number of reedings set into the flutes of a column or pilaster.

verb (used with object),ca·bled, ca·bling.
  1. to send (a message) by cable.

  2. to send a cablegram to.

  1. to fasten with a cable.

  2. to furnish with a cable.

  3. to join (cities, parts of a country, etc.) by means of a cable television network: The state will be completely cabled in a few years.

verb (used without object),ca·bled, ca·bling.
  1. to send a message by cable.

Origin of cable

1
1175–1225; Middle English, probably <Old North French *cable<Late Latin capulum lasso; compare Latin capulāre to rope, halter (cattle), akin to capere to take

Other words from cable

  • ca·ble·like, adjective
  • re·ca·ble, verb, re·ca·bled, re·ca·bling.
  • un·ca·bled, adjective

Other definitions for Cable (2 of 2)

Cable
[ key-buhl ]

noun
  1. George Washington, 1844–1925, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cable

cable

/ (ˈkeɪbəl) /


noun
  1. a strong thick rope, usually of twisted hemp or steel wire

  2. nautical an anchor chain or rope

    • a unit of distance in navigation, equal to one tenth of a sea mile (about 600 feet)

    • Also called: cable length, cable's length a unit of length in nautical use that has various values, including 100 fathoms (600 feet)

  1. a wire or bundle of wires that conducts electricity: a submarine cable See also coaxial cable

  2. Also called: overseas telegram, international telegram, cablegram a telegram sent abroad by submarine cable, radio, communications satellite, or by telephone line

verb
  1. to send (a message) to (someone) by cable

  2. (tr) to fasten or provide with a cable or cables

  1. (tr) to supply (a place) with or link (a place) to cable television

Origin of cable

1
C13: from Old Norman French, from Late Latin capulum halter

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012