telegram
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of telegram
Explanation
A telegram is a message sent by a telegraph, which is also called a wire. Over time, there have been many means of communicating, such as messenger pigeon, telephone, text message, letter, and email. Another is the telegram, which is a message sent by a telegraph. People often said a telegram was sent "by wire" because the sender and receiver of telegrams were connected by a wire. The electric telegraph has been around since the late 1800's. In the Civil War, important information was sent by telegram, which was the speediest means of communication.
Vocabulary lists containing telegram
Write On!: Graph and Gram
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Far and Away: Tele
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The Red Umbrella
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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.
Within hours of carrying the first telegram across the English Channel in 1850, the earliest “submarine telegraph”—27 miles of copper wire wrapped in a rubbery substance called gutta percha—was broken by a fishing trawler.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
The author sent a telegram to his mother back home in French-controlled Algeria: “I’ve never missed you so much.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
“The Queen and Elton John sent me a telegram of congratulations - my mum and dad were interviewed all week - it was a big thing.”
From BBC • Oct. 30, 2024
His family had to wait almost two weeks before a telegram arrived, addressed to his mother.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2024
It was the first telegram issued from the temporary War Department headquarters at the Petersen house.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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.
