telly
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of telly
First recorded in 1935–40; tel(evision) + -y 2
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.
"I've been on telly for 25 years, I must have been awful!"
From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025
And the “Antiques Roadshow” version of the lottery—the old picture over the family telly that might be worth $200 million.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025
Kemp also recounted how someone in a pub recently told him he looked "a lot fatter on telly".
From BBC • Aug. 19, 2025
“It’s crazy going to the Grammys and looking at all the famous people off the telly and just feeling very odd.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2025
And he said, “I’ve finished the drilling. That David Attenborough nature program’s on telly if you’re interested.”
From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon
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.
