cable
noun
a heavy, strong rope.
cable
1 American
[key-buhl]
/ ˈkeɪ bəl /
noun
cables
plural
-
a heavy, strong rope.
-
a very strong rope made of strands of metal wire, as used to support cable cars or suspension bridges.
-
a cord of metal wire used to operate or pull a mechanism.
-
Nautical.
-
a thick hawser made of rope, strands of metal wire, or chain.
-
-
Electricity. an insulated electrical conductor, often in strands, or a combination of electrical conductors insulated from one another.
-
Architecture. one of a number of reedings set into the flutes of a column or pilaster.
verb (used with object)
cables,
present (3rd person singular)
cabled,
past participle, past
cabling
present participle
-
to send (a message) by cable.
-
to send a cablegram to.
-
to fasten with a cable.
-
to furnish with a cable.
-
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)
cables,
present (3rd person singular)
cabled,
past participle, past
cabling
present participle
-
to send a message by cable.
-
to cable-stitch.
Cable
2
American
[key-buhl]
/ ˈkeɪ bəl /
noun
cable
British
/ ˈkeɪbəl /
noun
-
a strong thick rope, usually of twisted hemp or steel wire
-
nautical an anchor chain or rope
-
-
a unit of distance in navigation, equal to one tenth of a sea mile (about 600 feet)
-
Also called: cable length. cable's length. a unit of length in nautical use that has various values, including 100 fathoms (600 feet)
-
-
a wire or bundle of wires that conducts electricity See also coaxial cable
a submarine cable
-
Also called: overseas telegram. international telegram. cablegram. a telegram sent abroad by submarine cable, radio, communications satellite, or by telephone line
-
See cable stitch
-
short for cable television
verb
-
to send (a message) to (someone) by cable
-
(tr) to fasten or provide with a cable or cables
-
(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
-
cablesimple
-
cablessimple
-
have cabledperfect
-
has cabledperfect
-
am cablingprogressive
-
are cablingprogressive
-
is cablingprogressive
-
have been cablingperfect progressive
-
has been cablingperfect progressive
Past
-
cabledsimple
-
had cabledperfect
-
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
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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:
The states’ lawsuit offers coherent concerns about the deal’s impact on the film and cable TV marketplaces, but it doesn’t look like a slam dunk, according to antitrust experts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Bonta said the the $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. by Paramount would leave the resulting company with control of nearly a third of all movie production and cable television programming in the United States.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
If approved, the combined titan would control nearly a third of the US theatrical motion picture market and basic cable programming.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
According to the complaint, the combined company would control roughly 27 percent of wide-release theatrical film distribution and a similar percentage of basic cable channel licensing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Kyle’s house had TVs in every room, even the bathroom, and they all had cable.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Cable and telecom stocks have been weak this year with Charter Communications down 27% and AT&T down 12% to $21.78, including a 4% drop Monday that has sent the stock to a new 52-week low.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Cable television’s evolution into streaming also transformed fandom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
Initially, the Cable News Network struggled to draw viewers, but that changed with the Persian Gulf War, when Turner’s investment in international journalism paid off.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
In 1980, Turner launched Cable News Network as the first dedicated rolling news channel, which soon became a central part of the media landscape.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
They could have attached it to some migratory bird, and Dr. Cable would be on her way to South America instead of in the library overseeing the destruction of the Smoke.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
But the national railway service said it had repaired cables burnt by the fire on Sunday, allowing it to resume normal services for fast trains connecting the capital to the southeastern city of Lyon.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
The Wall Street Journal’s personal-tech team has long recommended cables and other charging accessories from Anker and Belkin, though there are other reputable brands out there as well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
But because USB-C is popular well beyond Apple’s walled garden, it is easier to pick up cheap, poor-quality replacement cables.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Founded as a ground wood pulp mill on the banks of Finland’s Nokianvirta River in 1865, the company evolved through rubber and cables before it became known for mobile handsets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
There were cables from Vietnam he hadn’t seen, minutes from meetings he hadn’t known had taken place.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
"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
Finally, on Jan. 2, 1950, Mao cabled the communist leadership in Beijing:
From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2022
Later, her letters alarmed him so much that he cabled her to say she should leave Riverbank right away.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Investors in the group have been hoping for a rapid switch from copper cabling to fiber inside data centers.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 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
They said that AI can do the “opposite” of what automation does, and “generate demand for novel human expertise” like electrical installation or fiber-optic cabling.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 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.
