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Synonyms

tell on

Idioms  

  1. Tattle on, inform on, as in Marjorie said she'd tell on him if he pulled her hair again. This seemingly modern term appeared in a 1539 translation of the Bible (I Samuel 27:11): “David saved neither man nor woman ... for fear (said he) lest they should tell on us.”

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.

It’s a joke with its own Wikipedia page, one economists tell on economists, about being stuck on a deserted island with a can of food and no way open it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Time will have to tell on those questions, with neither the Dodgers nor Ohtani ready to commit to any answers until they see how he continues to respond to his return to two-way duties.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 2025

"It's the play that tells the exact story that I want this national theatre company to be able to tell, on the second biggest stage in Europe," Sheen told BBC News.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2025

The thing is, most people can’t help but tell on themselves.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2025

The Object was still too young for the effects to tell on her.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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.