telethon

[tel-uh-thon]

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noun

a television broadcast lasting several hours, especially one soliciting support for a charity.

Origin of telethon

1945–50; tele-¹ + -thon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for telethon

telethon, bazaar, fundraiser, radiothon

Examples from the Web for telethon

Contemporary Examples of telethon

George Clooney will also host a telethon on January 22 for MTV.
Who's Helping Haiti?
The Daily Beast
January 14, 2010

British Dictionary definitions for telethon

telethon

noun

a lengthy television programme to raise charity funds, etc

Word Origin for telethon

C20: from tele- + marathon

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

Word Origin and History for telethon

prolonged TV fundraiser, 1949, from tele(vision) + (mara)thon (see -athon). Milton Berle's 16-hour television cancer fundraiser in April 1949 might have been the first to be so called.