tell
verb (used with object)
to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.).
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tell
1 American
[tel]
/ tɛl /
verb (used with object)
-
tells,
present (3rd person singular)
-
told,
past participle, past
-
telling
present participle
-
to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.).
to tell the story of Lincoln's childhood.
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to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate.
- Synonyms:
- impart
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to announce or proclaim.
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to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- speak
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to express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.).
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to reveal or divulge (something secret or private).
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to say plainly or positively.
I cannot tell just what was done.
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to discern or recognize (a distant person or thing) so as to be able to identify or describe.
Can you tell who that is over there?
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to distinguish; discriminate; ascertain.
You could hardly tell the difference between them.
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to inform (a person) of something.
He told me his name.
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to assure emphatically.
I won't, I tell you!
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to bid, order, or command.
Tell him to stop.
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to mention one after another, as in enumerating; count or set one by one or in exact amount.
to tell the cattle in a herd;
All told there were 17 if we are correct.
verb (used without object)
-
tells,
present (3rd person singular)
-
told,
past participle, past
-
telling
present participle
-
to give an account or report.
Tell me about your trip.
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to give evidence or be an indication.
The ruined temples told of an ancient culture, long since passed from existence.
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to disclose something secret or private; inform; tattle.
She knows who did it, but she won't tell.
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to say positively; determine; predict.
Who can tell?
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to have force or effect; operate effectively.
a contest in which every stroke tells.
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to produce a marked or severe effect.
The strain was telling on his health.
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British Dialect. to talk or chat.
verb phrase
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tell on to tattle on (someone).
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tell off
-
to separate from the whole and assign to a particular duty.
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Informal. to rebuke severely; scold.
It was about time that someone told him off.
-
idioms
tell
2
American
[tel]
/ tɛl /
noun
Tell
3
American
[tel]
/ tɛl /
noun
tell
1
British
/ tɛl /
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to let know or notify
he told me that he would go
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(tr) to order or instruct (someone to do something)
I told her to send the letter airmail
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to give an account or narration (of something)
she told me her troubles
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(tr) to communicate by words; utter
to tell the truth
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(tr) to make known; disclose
to tell fortunes
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to serve as an indication
her blush told of her embarrassment
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(tr; used with can, etc; may take a clause as object) to comprehend, discover, or discern
I can tell what is wrong
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(tr; used with can, etc) to distinguish or discriminate
he couldn't tell chalk from cheese
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(intr) to have or produce an impact, effect, or strain
every step told on his bruised feet
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informal to reveal secrets or gossip (about)
don't tell!
she told on him
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(tr) to assure
I tell you, I've had enough!
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(tr) to count (votes)
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dialect (intr) to talk or chatter
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informal to tell the truth no matter how unpleasant it is
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to read the time from a clock
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slang I know that very well
Tell
2
British
/ tɛl /
noun
tell
3
British
/ tɛl /
noun
tell
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
tellsimple
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tellssimple
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have toldperfect
-
has toldperfect
-
am tellingprogressive
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are tellingprogressive
-
is tellingprogressive
-
have been tellingperfect progressive
-
has been tellingperfect progressive
Past
-
toldsimple
-
had toldperfect
-
was tellingprogressive
-
were tellingprogressive
-
had been tellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tell1
First recorded before 900; Middle English tellen, tel(le) “to speak, talk, say, mention,” Old English tellan “to tell, relate, count”; cognate with Dutch tellen “to reckon, count,” Old Norse telja “to count, number, say,” Old High German zellēn, German zählen “to count, number”; akin to tale
Origin of tell2
First recorded in 1860–65; from Arabic tall “hillock”
Explanation
To tell is to describe or announce something, either by speaking or writing. If you're going to be late to a movie, you should tell your friends so they can save you a seat. You might tell someone to be quiet in the library, or tell a bedtime story to your siblings. You can also tell your friend a secret or tell her secret to someone else. Informally, to tell on someone is to inform an authority about something that person did that she wasn't supposed to do. And there's also a way to use tell to mean "determine with certainty," like when you can tell it's going to rain because the sky is so dark.
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.
See Examples For:
“It’s early days on our AI search product, but I can tell you we’re earning more than 10 times per search in revenue than it costs,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
As usual with this guy, we got a lot less than he promised, though he continues to tell us how “big and beautiful” the pool is — or rather was, until “vandals” destroyed it.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Because you can tell your accountant that sneakers are always a practical wardrobe investment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
In his own victim impact statement, he said he was in bed when police arrived to tell his mum what had happened.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Grandma, what does that mean? And why didn’t you tell me that gold Flashes were a thing?”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In one sense, he was selling himself short: “Revolver” featured three Harrison compositions, a glut of new material that included “Taxman,” “Love You To” and “I Want to Tell You.”
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Make the right choice. Help us find her. Tell us where to look for her,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Tell me who you’re putting on these groups, he said, and I’ll tell you what they’ll say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
"My Dad calls all the time and asks 'my son, are you good? Tell me that you are good.'"
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
And then, as Kavil set his mouth in a tight line, “How did you know how to find Mal? Tell me that!”
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
"With climate change, we're sitting on a ticking time bomb," the 32-year-old founder of Bee Safe Mosquito Control tells AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
"Every chance I get going forward, I'll sell a little bit more," he tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Obvious AI tells throughout this track make clear that Boy George hasn’t just gotten lazy, he’s also lost the quality of discernment.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
If you’re in that group, congratulations: You’ve won a comparison that tells you almost nothing about whether you can retire.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
When I ask him about why he joined Black Alliance, he tells me it’s because he comes from a long history of activists.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
When I say I wish someone had spoken to me at 15, I am not wishing someone had told me I looked sick.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Met told the BBC it accepts the life of Sheryl Wilkins could have been saved.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
My smoothie churned in my stomach, and I told Jim that I needed to go.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
He told me, get three things done each day, and the rest is noise.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Still, she doesn’t want to go to Novaliches—especially after what Father Monaghan has told her about Tala.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Instead, as my story this week reports, the investment firm Rupireddy used is now telling him it sold the stake two years ago—when SpaceX was worth far less than it is today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Bernie Moreno, albeit belatedly, reacted to Miller’s behavior by defending his daughter, telling reporters he sent her, his granddaughter and his wife to a “secure place” out of state for their own safety.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Met closed the case and Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologised for the investigation, telling LBC on Thursday that the complaint should have been "screened out earlier on as not requiring investigation".
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
So when you’re telling me you don’t know any details about the second season of “Pluribus,” are you misleading me?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
So we all ate in silence, not a word being spoken between us—until, that is, Mutti left the kitchen, telling us she was going to check on Marlene out in the barn.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
