television

American  

[tel-uh-vizh-uhn] / ˈtɛl əˌvɪʒ ən /

noun

1. the transmission of programming, in the form of still or moving images, via radio waves, cable wires, satellite, or wireless network to a receiver or other screen.

2. the process or product involved.

   to watch television.

3. an electronic device or set for receiving television broadcasts or similar programming.

4. the field of television broadcasting, or similar transmission of programming.

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television British  

/ ˈtɛlɪˌvɪʒən /

noun

1. the system or process of producing on a distant screen a series of transient visible images, usually with an accompanying sound signal. Electrical signals, converted from optical images by a camera tube, are transmitted by UHF or VHF radio waves or by cable and reconverted into optical images by means of a television tube inside a television set

2. Also called: television set.  a device designed to receive and convert incoming electrical signals into a series of visible images on a screen together with accompanying sound

3. the content, etc, of television programmes

4. the occupation or profession concerned with any aspect of the broadcasting of television programmes

   he's in television

5. (modifier) of, relating to, or used in the transmission or reception of video and audio UHF or VHF radio signals

   a television transmitter

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Other Word Forms

• pretelevision
  adjective
• televisional
  adjective
• televisionally
  adverb
• televisionary
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of television

First recorded in 1905–10; tele- ¹ + vision

Explanation

A television is an electronic device that broadcasts entertaining programs you can watch and listen to. You and your parents might argue over how much television you're allowed to watch on school nights. If you're North American, you probably call a television a TV, while in the UK it's common to use the nickname telly. The word television was first used for the very earliest versions of the TV, around 1900. The word comes from the Greek root tele, "far off," and the Latin visio, "sight." Other names suggested at the time for this brand new technology included telephote and televista.

Example Sentences

TELEVISION, IN ITS formative years, wasn’t widespread in the United States until the 1940s and only went color in a broad scale in the mid-’60s.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 29, 2021

Helpful Hints for Household Horror TELEVISION, long the home of monstrous behavior, has never seemed like the ideal medium for actual monsters.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2013

Among the automobile showrooms and tire and accessory shops where Boston's Commonwealth Avenue runs into Kenmore Square, gaudy posters proclaim TELEVISION.

From Time Magazine Archive

TELEVISION: A color TV set, played 3.6 hours a day, uses 440 kwh. of electricity per year, or $10.08 worth; a black and white set needs only 120 kwh.

From Time Magazine Archive

APPRECIATION: Susan Sontag, an intellectual lightning bolt 72 FILM: The Woodsman 73 TELEVISION: Unscripted offers a wry insider's look at show biz 74 TRAVEL: As Delta slashes its fares, will other big carriers follow?

From Time Magazine Archive

Related Words

• TV set
• audio
• box
• station
• video