cable
noun
a heavy, strong rope.
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cable
1 American
[kay-buhl]
/ ˈkeɪ bəl /
noun
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cables
plural
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a heavy, strong rope.
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a very strong rope made of strands of metal wire, as used to support cable cars or suspension bridges.
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a cord of metal wire used to operate or pull a mechanism.
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Nautical.
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a thick hawser made of rope, strands of metal wire, or chain.
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Electricity. an insulated electrical conductor, often in strands, or a combination of electrical conductors insulated from one another.
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Architecture. one of a number of reedings set into the flutes of a column or pilaster.
verb (used with object)
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cables,
present (3rd person singular)
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cabled,
past participle, past
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cabling
present participle
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to send (a message) by cable.
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to send a cablegram to.
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to fasten with a cable.
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to furnish with a cable.
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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)
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cables,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cabled,
past participle, past
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cabling
present participle
-
to send a message by cable.
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to cable-stitch.
Cable
2
American
[kay-buhl]
/ ˈkeɪ bəl /
noun
cable
British
/ ˈkeɪbəl /
noun
-
a strong thick rope, usually of twisted hemp or steel wire
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nautical an anchor chain or rope
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a unit of distance in navigation, equal to one tenth of a sea mile (about 600 feet)
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Also called: cable length, cable's length. a unit of length in nautical use that has various values, including 100 fathoms (600 feet)
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a wire or bundle of wires that conducts electricity See also coaxial cable
a submarine cable
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Also called: overseas telegram, international telegram, cablegram. a telegram sent abroad by submarine cable, radio, communications satellite, or by telephone line
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See cable stitch
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short for cable television
verb
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to send (a message) to (someone) by cable
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(tr) to fasten or provide with a cable or cables
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(tr) to supply (a place) with or link (a place) to cable television
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cablesimple
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cablessimple
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have cabledperfect
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has cabledperfect
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am cablingprogressive
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are cablingprogressive
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is cablingprogressive
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have been cablingperfect progressive
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has been cablingperfect progressive
Past
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cabledsimple
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had cabledperfect
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was cablingprogressive
-
were cablingprogressive
-
had been cablingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cable
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
Explanation
A cable can be a strong and thick hemp or steel rope, or a conductor for sending electrical or optical signals. Cable has a bunch of meanings — ranging from communication cables to steel cables. With new online services that stream your favorite show on demand, cable television may become a thing of the past. If your adventurous kids have convinced you to install a zip line, then you better find a steel cable. In the age of email, chances are you'll never have a reason to send someone an overseas cable.
Vocabulary lists containing cable
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 1
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Journalism
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Across the strait, Batam is just as attractive to investors - from the US, China, Australia, Singapore - because of relatively low operating costs, proximity to Singapore and connections to major subsea cable routes.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The cable network reported that the operation was linked to a criminal fraud investigation concerning immigration paperwork submitted on behalf of the Somali-born congresswoman by her late father when she was a child.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Executives at the broadcast networks have groused for years that the telecast had become an advertisement for its competition, first when premium cable networks such as HBO and Showtime scored multiple wins and nominations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
But alternatives exist: Precise time can travel by fiber-optic cable and be kept by land-based atomic clocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
The cable contained the results of the initial interview conducted by David Shorer with the most important KGB defector in a generation.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Cable architecture allows traffic to be rerouted, so a cut would not cause a total blackout.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The brand was born a decade ago, after Charter bought Time Warner Cable, which had long served the Los Angeles region.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Cable internet providers such as Cox or Xfinity have cheaper plans in many regions, but upload and download speeds are not as fast as with fiber.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
In 2014, the business secretary of the time, Vince Cable, said he was appalled that some mortgage providers were lending five times a mortgage applicant's income, suggesting a stable level was up to 3.5 times.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
“Message to Dr. Cable, or whomever,” she said to it.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Vizag is a landing point for submarine internet cables linking the country to Singapore, so for India, the location of the 600-acre site -- more than 340 football pitches -- is ideal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Today, the cables beneath the Atlantic carry far more than phone calls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
At the dawn of the internet, a select group of companies made a killing creating the equipment and business model for the system of glass strands bundled in cables, known as a fiber-optic network.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
"Burying the cables is expensive so if this is an alternative to make it a bit less of an eyesore, it's probably a good idea."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
They were all eight or ten feet tall, and full of not just wires and cables and motherboards, but also random blips of light flashing on and off.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The author himself permitted an American actor who cabled to him in 1899 to ask his permission to take a creative liberty with his signature hero.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
"Stick with us," cabled Morecambe, "and we will get you another one".
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2023
Q: My wife has a 5-year-old Dell laptop cabled to our router and a 2007 Brother printer.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 26, 2022
Mr. Bondarev, part of the team working on arms control and disarmament at Russia’s Geneva mission, said he had seen misleading information cabled to Moscow in recent weeks.
From New York Times ● May 23, 2022
The information was cabled to headquarters in Moscow, which reported that the technical details were of “great interest.”
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
They then use specialized compressed-air-jetting equipment to propel fiber-optic cabling through the conduit, which then runs across a river and into the city.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
If I were running a brand in the data-center space, I’d be in that community posting behind-the-scenes shots of my meticulously organized cabling and watching the comments roll in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
They also integrated the required electronics, cabling, structural supports, and measurement tools.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 27, 2026
Though ultimately the government could save Moerdijk, and opt for the alternative of squeezing the substations and their cabling around and in between the four villages.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
The door was surrounded by things like cabling, hooks and the plates that linked the bare-bones machinery of the door hydraulics with the more aesthetic wall coverings of the large cargo room.
From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
