telegraph

American  

[tel-i-graf, -grahf] / ˈtɛl ɪˌgræf, -ˌgrɑf /

noun

1. an apparatus, system, or process for transmitting messages or signals to a distant place, especially by means of an electric device consisting essentially of a sending instrument and a distant receiving instrument connected by a conducting wire or other communications channel.

2. Nautical. an apparatus, usually mechanical, for transmitting and receiving orders between the bridge of a ship and the engine room or some other part of the engineering department.

3. a message sent by telegraph; a telegram.

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verb (used with object)

1. to transmit or send (a message) by telegraph.

2. to send a message to (a person) by telegraph.

3. Informal. to divulge or indicate unwittingly (one's intention, next offensive move, etc.), as to an opponent or to an audience; broadcast.

   The fighter telegraphed his punch and his opponent was able to parry it. If you act nervous too early in the scene, you'll telegraph the character's guilt.

verb (used without object)

1. to send a message by telegraph.

telegraph British  

/ tɪˈlɛɡrəfɪst, -ˌɡrɑːf, ˈtɛlɪˌɡræf /

noun

1. 1. a device, system, or process by which information can be transmitted over a distance, esp using radio signals or coded electrical signals sent along a transmission line connected to a transmitting and a receiving instrument

   2. ( as modifier )

      telegraph pole

2. a message transmitted by such a device, system, or process; telegram

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verb

1. to send a telegram to (a person or place); wire

2. (tr) to transmit or send by telegraph

3. informal (tr) boxing to prepare to deliver (a punch) so obviously that one's opponent has ample time to avoid it

4. (tr) to give advance notice of (anything), esp unintentionally

5. informal (tr) to cast (votes) illegally by impersonating registered voters

telegraph Scientific  

/ tĕl′ĭ-grăf′ /

1. A communications system in which a message in the form of short, rapid electric impulses is sent, either by wire or radio, to a receiving station. Morse code is often used to encode messages in a form that is easily transmitted through electric impulses.

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Other Word Forms

• pretelegraph
  adjective
• retelegraph
  verb
• telegrapher
  noun
• telegraphist
  noun
• untelegraphed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of telegraph

< French télégraphe (1792) a kind of manual signaling device; see tele- ¹, -graph

Explanation

Forget about the internet! Before even the telephone was invented, the telegraph — a device used to communicate via electronic signals — was the main mode of communicating long distance. We've come a long way! The telegraph is an outdated form of communication as far as sending long-distance messages goes. It uses an electric signal broken to create a code that then transmits over a wire and translates into a message. Alexander Graham Bell started tinkering with the telegraph and ended up inventing the first "harmonic telegraph" to transmit sound through a wire — which led to the birth of the modern telephone.

Example Sentences

To start with, Ukraine relied on a network of mobile phones fitted on to telegraph poles to listen out for the sound of approaching drones.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

The Powell Fed, in short, offered an unprecedented level of what academics refer to as forward guidance, or indications of any sort that telegraph the likely path of short-term interest rates.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

The possibility for national markets was brought about by the railroad, which by the 1870s had connected all major U.S. cities and many minor ones, and the telegraph that ran beside it.

From Barron's • May 2, 2026

President Abraham Lincoln spent many evenings in the War Department telegraph office reading dispatches and issuing orders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

Treated seriously or not, the story of the Fox sisters and the spirits spread farther and faster due to the invention of the telegraph.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Related Words

• anticipate
• augur
• calculate
• conclude
• determine
• estimate
• foresee
• foretell
• gauge
• portend