Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

telegraphy

American  
[tuh-leg-ruh-fee] / təˈlɛg rə fi /

noun

  1. the art or practice of constructing or operating telegraphs.


telegraphy British  
/ tɪˈlɛɡrəfɪ /

noun

  1. a system of telecommunications involving any process providing reproduction at a distance of written, printed, or pictorial matter See also facsimile

  2. the skill or process of operating a telegraph

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of telegraphy

First recorded in 1785–95; tele- 1 + -graphy

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.

Over the next decade, Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian aristocrat, developed a practical system of wireless telegraphy using radio waves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

As a post office worker, he was assigned to the Royal Engineers, fighting with the 53rd Division, in order to lay vital telegraphy and field telephone systems.

From BBC • Nov. 11, 2023

But the language didn't go very far in anticipating the more immediately problematic aspects of telegraphy, including the way it hastened the spread of misinformation, information overload, and many forms of imperialism.

From Salon • May 30, 2023

“The wonder of our time, electrical telegraphy, was long ago modeled in the animal,” du Bois-Reymond said in an 1851 speech.

From Scientific American • Apr. 9, 2022

Wireless telegraphy, as radio was then called, required equipment that was too heavy and cumbersome to be carried into battle.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman