Cable

¹ American  

[key-buhl] / ˈkeɪ bəl /

noun

1. George Washington, 1844–1925, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

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cable ² American  

[key-buhl] / ˈkeɪ bəl /

noun

1. a heavy, strong rope.

2. a very strong rope made of strands of metal wire, as used to support cable cars or suspension bridges.

3. a cord of metal wire used to operate or pull a mechanism.

4. Nautical.

   1. a thick hawser made of rope, strands of metal wire, or chain.

   2. cable's length.

5. Electricity. an insulated electrical conductor, often in strands, or a combination of electrical conductors insulated from one another.

6. cablegram.

7. cable television.

8. cable-stitch.

9. Architecture. one of a number of reedings set into the flutes of a column or pilaster.

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verb (used with object)

cabled, cabling

1. to send (a message) by cable.

2. to send a cablegram to.

3. to fasten with a cable.

4. to furnish with a cable.

5. 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)

cabled, cabling

1. to send a message by cable.

2. to cable-stitch.

cable British  

/ ˈkeɪbəl /

noun

1. a strong thick rope, usually of twisted hemp or steel wire

2. nautical an anchor chain or rope

3. 1. a unit of distance in navigation, equal to one tenth of a sea mile (about 600 feet)

   2. Also called: cable length.   cable's length.  a unit of length in nautical use that has various values, including 100 fathoms (600 feet)

4. a wire or bundle of wires that conducts electricity See also coaxial cable

   a submarine cable

5. Also called: overseas telegram.   international telegram.   cablegram.  a telegram sent abroad by submarine cable, radio, communications satellite, or by telephone line

6. See cable stitch

7. short for cable television

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verb

1. to send (a message) to (someone) by cable

2. (tr) to fasten or provide with a cable or cables

3. (tr) to supply (a place) with or link (a place) to cable television

Other Word Forms

• cablelike adjective
• recable verb
• uncabled adjective

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

Example Sentences

Nato governments are on high alert for any signs that Russia is cutting the undersea cables that carry the electronic traffic that keeps Western society going.

From BBC

Last year, it installed an acoustic barrier to shield bats from noise while replacing underground cables.

From The Wall Street Journal

The crew blow-torched the fasteners and released the cables that held the crane to the ship, while workers on land laid temporary rails across the wharf.

From The Wall Street Journal

In February, a tornado, with winds of up to 85 mph, tore roofs off mobile homes in Oxnard and ripped power cables to the ground.

From Los Angeles Times

In the late 1990s, a large amount of capital was used to install dark fiber— unused fiberoptic cables—capacity that far exceeded demand.

From Barron's

Related Words

• cord
• link
• rope
• wire