cable
noun
a heavy, strong rope.
cable
1 American
[key-buhl]
/ ˈkeɪ bəl /
noun
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cables
plural
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a heavy, strong rope.
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a very strong rope made of strands of metal wire, as used to support cable cars or suspension bridges.
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a cord of metal wire used to operate or pull a mechanism.
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Nautical.
-
a thick hawser made of rope, strands of metal wire, or chain.
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-
Electricity. an insulated electrical conductor, often in strands, or a combination of electrical conductors insulated from one another.
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Architecture. one of a number of reedings set into the flutes of a column or pilaster.
verb (used with object)
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cables,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cabled,
past participle, past
-
cabling
present participle
-
to send (a message) by cable.
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to send a cablegram to.
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to fasten with a cable.
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to furnish with a cable.
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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.
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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
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nautical an anchor chain or rope
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a unit of distance in navigation, equal to one tenth of a sea mile (about 600 feet)
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Also called: cable length. cable's length. a unit of length in nautical use that has various values, including 100 fathoms (600 feet)
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a wire or bundle of wires that conducts electricity See also coaxial cable
a submarine cable
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Also called: overseas telegram. international telegram. cablegram. a telegram sent abroad by submarine cable, radio, communications satellite, or by telephone line
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See cable stitch
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short for cable television
verb
-
to send (a message) to (someone) by cable
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(tr) to fasten or provide with a cable or cables
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(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
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cablesimple
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cablessimple
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have cabledperfect
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has cabledperfect
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am cablingprogressive
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are cablingprogressive
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is cablingprogressive
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have been cablingperfect progressive
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has been cablingperfect progressive
Past
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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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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:
It also said households should never connect one through an extension lead, cable reel or plug-in adaptor, as these can overheat.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The merger would create a media giant with two movie and television studios, dozens of cable channels, two subscription streaming services and a broadcast network.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
In Tesla's Model 3, for example, passengers must reach into a compartment inside the door pocket and find a release cable to manually open the rear door, according to the company's website.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Fox News co-host Emily Compagno is jumping from the network’s daytime chatfest “Outnumbered” to join “The Five,” the most-watched program on cable news.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
The pod wrapped around the cable without breaking it and detected the signals through a process called induction.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
In 2011, former Time Warner Cable executives hammered out the 20-year agreement with the Lakers, then owned by the late Jerry Buss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Cable internet providers such as Cox or Xfinity have cheaper plans in many regions, but upload and download speeds are not as fast as with fiber.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Cable networks are largely suffering from continued cord-cutting and seen as a drag by Wall Street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
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
Maybe Dr. Cable had told them all what she’d done.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
ING estimates the AI frenzy accounts for around a third of the U.S. economy’s recent growth, as the data-center build-out sucks in semiconductors, electronics, cables, metals and machinery from around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Prysmian, an Italian maker of underground and submarine cables for power transmission, is a winner from the electrification push, and its shares are up 40% this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
These cables, sometimes included with your car from the manufacturer, allow you to draw a charge from another battery or vehicle and recharge your battery enough to turn the starter.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Submarine cables are increasingly being buried up to three meters deep," she says.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Mom goes over to talk to a man in a pickup truck, and a few minutes later there are black cables snaking from his truck to our car.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
The author himself permitted an American actor who cabled to him in 1899 to ask his permission to take a creative liberty with his signature hero.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2025
"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
On January 9, Nixon’s sixtieth birthday, Kissinger cabled the news to Washington.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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 latter includes makers of memory chips, hard drives, fiber-optic cabling and even power generators—Caterpillar’s CAT -0.21%decrease; red down pointing triangle 34% gain so far this year is leading the Dow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
The cabling was easy to detach, too, just a couple of complicated plugs.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
