telegraph

American  

[tel-i-graf, -grahf] / ˈtɛl ɪˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. a message sent by telegraph; a telegram.

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verb (used with object)

1. to transmit or send (a message) by telegraph.

2. to send a message to (a person) by telegraph.

3. 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)

1. to send a message by telegraph.

telegraph British  

/ tɪˈlɛɡrəfɪst, -ˌɡrɑːf, ˈtɛlɪˌɡræf /

noun

1. 1. 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

   2. ( as modifier )

      telegraph pole

2. a message transmitted by such a device, system, or process; telegram

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verb

1. to send a telegram to (a person or place); wire

2. (tr) to transmit or send by telegraph

3. informal (tr) boxing to prepare to deliver (a punch) so obviously that one's opponent has ample time to avoid it

4. (tr) to give advance notice of (anything), esp unintentionally

5. informal (tr) to cast (votes) illegally by impersonating registered voters

telegraph Scientific  

/ tĕl′ĭ-grăf′ /

1. A communications system in which a message in the form of short, rapid electric impulses is sent, either by wire or radio, to a receiving station. Morse code is often used to encode messages in a form that is easily transmitted through electric impulses.

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Other Word Forms

• pretelegraph adjective
• retelegraph verb
• telegrapher noun
• telegraphist noun
• untelegraphed adjective

Etymology

Origin of telegraph

< French télégraphe (1792) a kind of manual signaling device; 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.

Example Sentences

Central bank officials have used speeches and events to telegraph where they believe the economy and interest rates are headed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Patla compared the situation to communication before the telegraph, when handwritten letters crossed oceans by ship and replies took weeks or months to return.

From Science Daily • Dec. 30, 2025

I had tried to telegraph to the group that coming back was not a given, and I think the fact that a long time that elapsed also made that clear.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2025

The most powerful solar storm ever recorded was the Carrington Event in 1859, which knocked out telegraph lines across the globe.

From BBC • Nov. 30, 2025

Once it arrived, she could arrange by telegraph to have it forwarded as well, perhaps to Maine or New York, so that she could have all her things in hand for the voyage to Europe.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• anticipate
• augur
• calculate
• conclude
• determine
• estimate
• foresee
• foretell
• gauge
• portend