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telegram

American  
[tel-i-gram] / ˈtɛl ɪˌgræm /

noun

  1. a message or communication sent by telegraph; a telegraphic dispatch.

verb (used with or without object)

telegrammed, telegramming

  1. to telegraph.

telegram British  
/ ˈtɛlɪˌɡræm, ˌtɛlɪɡrəˈmætɪk /

noun

  1. a communication transmitted by telegraph See also cable Telemessage

"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

Other Word Forms

  • telegrammatic adjective
  • telegrammic adjective

Etymology

Origin of telegram

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; tele- 1 + -gram 1

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.

There had been no letters, no telegrams, and not a single picture postcard.

From Literature

After picking up the note, the messenger cycled around town, picking up other telegrams, before returning to the office.

From Literature

"The telegram boy said, 'I'm sorry to tell you, but this is bad news'," he says.

From BBC

A telegram from King George VI was read aloud:

From BBC

A telegram in the same files shows a doctor from Cornwall, who was treating a 10-year-old child in 1944, pleading with the authorities for the medicine: "No hope without penicillin".

From BBC

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.