cable
noun
a heavy, strong rope.
cable
1 American
[kay-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.
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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.
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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.
-
to cable-stitch.
Cable
2
American
[kay-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)
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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)
-
-
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
-
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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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:
In real life it is a warehouse of expensive computers, a power line, a cooling plant and a cable.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Across the strait, Batam is just as attractive to investors - from the US, China, Australia, Singapore - because of relatively low operating costs, proximity to Singapore and connections to major subsea cable routes.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
The cable network reported that the operation was linked to a criminal fraud investigation concerning immigration paperwork submitted on behalf of the Somali-born congresswoman by her late father when she was a child.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Their recent report covers television, cable and digital spots from Sept. 8 through 27.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
They stepped out of the cable car and onto the platform.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
On Sunday 4 October, around 5,000 people are expected to attend a march in Whitechapel to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
In Kingsolver’s latest, a farm wife named Livia Cable has her quietly composed life blown open by a phone call from her days as a brilliant pianist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
“It feels like they’re trying to hide behind the norms that have been created in vulnerability disclosure for this, which is a very different problem,” Cable said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 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
She sat and stared, having to remind herself every few minutes that it had all really happened: the cruel pretties, the strange buildings on the edge of town, the terrible ultimatum from Dr. Cable.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
Because the wheels were not secured with chocks, and no breakaway cables were attached, there was nothing preventing the vehicle from rolling backwards when it was lowered on to the skates.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
More than 90% of data capacity between Europe and Asia runs through cables under the Red Sea, which enter through Bab al-Mandeb, a strait about 16 miles wide.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Vizag is a landing point for submarine internet cables linking the country to Singapore, so for India, the location of the 600-acre site -- more than 340 football pitches -- is ideal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
Another passenger said the crew later swapped the cables for zip ties kept in the cabin for emergencies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Our beloved Cleo is attached to a complicated system of pulleys, winches, rope, and steel cables.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
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
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
The van has a wifi system, which involves a router being cabled to an antenna on the van's roof that links up to satellites.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2021
But mainly, he said, the demolition company wants to give its cranes more maneuvering room by collapsing a freestanding wall that has been cabled to the wreckage to stabilize it.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2020
On Saturday, soon after receiving Ferris’s congratulatory telegram, Rice cabled back that in fact the first car already had been hung.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Mark Carney was pushing to take Canada’s relationship with the EU to the next level—a bold gambit to rewire the economic cabling of the Western alliance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 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
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