telegraph
Americannoun
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an apparatus, system, or process for transmitting messages or signals to a distant place, especially by means of an electric device consisting essentially of a sending instrument and a distant receiving instrument connected by a conducting wire or other communications channel.
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Nautical. an apparatus, usually mechanical, for transmitting and receiving orders between the bridge of a ship and the engine room or some other part of the engineering department.
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a message sent by telegraph; a telegram.
verb (used with object)
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to transmit or send (a message) by telegraph.
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to send a message to (a person) by telegraph.
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Informal. to divulge or indicate unwittingly (one's intention, next offensive move, etc.), as to an opponent or to an audience; broadcast.
The fighter telegraphed his punch and his opponent was able to parry it. If you act nervous too early in the scene, you'll telegraph the character's guilt.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a device, system, or process by which information can be transmitted over a distance, esp using radio signals or coded electrical signals sent along a transmission line connected to a transmitting and a receiving instrument
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( as modifier )
telegraph pole
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a message transmitted by such a device, system, or process; telegram
verb
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to send a telegram to (a person or place); wire
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(tr) to transmit or send by telegraph
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informal (tr) boxing to prepare to deliver (a punch) so obviously that one's opponent has ample time to avoid it
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(tr) to give advance notice of (anything), esp unintentionally
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informal (tr) to cast (votes) illegally by impersonating registered voters
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has telegraphedperfect 3rd person singular
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have telegraphedperfect
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are telegraphingprogressive
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am telegraphingprogressive 1st person singular
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telegraphingparticiple
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has been telegraphingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is telegraphingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been telegraphingperfect progressive
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telegraphssingular 3rd person
Past
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had telegraphedperfect
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were telegraphingprogressive plural
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was telegraphingprogressive singular
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had been telegraphingperfect progressive
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telegraphedparticiple
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telegraphedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of telegraph
< French télégraphe (1792) a kind of manual signaling device; see tele- 1, -graph
Explanation
Forget about the internet! Before even the telephone was invented, the telegraph — a device used to communicate via electronic signals — was the main mode of communicating long distance. We've come a long way! The telegraph is an outdated form of communication as far as sending long-distance messages goes. It uses an electric signal broken to create a code that then transmits over a wire and translates into a message. Alexander Graham Bell started tinkering with the telegraph and ended up inventing the first "harmonic telegraph" to transmit sound through a wire — which led to the birth of the modern telephone.
Vocabulary lists containing telegraph
Write On!: Graph and Gram
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The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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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.
His comments came after former Home Secretary Jack Straw told the Telegraph there had been an "over-correction" within policing after the 1993 murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
In March, the company struck a deal to buy Britain’s Daily Telegraph for 575 million pounds in a move to expand its media portfolio.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Buffett famously told The Telegraph in 2002 that he just couldn’t help himself when it came to the boom-and-bust industry.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
In April, Harborne told The Telegraph he "wasn't expecting anything in return apart from ensuring his safety" when referring to the gift.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
With an additional $500 cadged from the National Research Council, Lawrence ordered a custom magnet with nine-inch pole faces from the Federal Telegraph Company.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
