tell
verb (used with object)
to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.).
Jump To:
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.
-
to make known by speech or writing (a fact, news, information, etc.); communicate.
- Synonyms:
- impart
-
to announce or proclaim.
-
to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- speak
-
to express in words (thoughts, feelings, etc.).
-
to reveal or divulge (something secret or private).
-
to say plainly or positively.
I cannot tell just what was done.
-
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?
-
to distinguish; discriminate; ascertain.
You could hardly tell the difference between them.
-
to inform (a person) of something.
He told me his name.
-
to assure emphatically.
I won't, I tell you!
-
to bid, order, or command.
Tell him to stop.
-
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.
-
to give evidence or be an indication.
The ruined temples told of an ancient culture, long since passed from existence.
-
to disclose something secret or private; inform; tattle.
She knows who did it, but she won't tell.
-
to say positively; determine; predict.
Who can tell?
-
to have force or effect; operate effectively.
a contest in which every stroke tells.
-
to produce a marked or severe effect.
The strain was telling on his health.
-
British Dialect. to talk or chat.
verb phrase
-
tell on to tattle on (someone).
-
tell off
-
to separate from the whole and assign to a particular duty.
-
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
-
(tr) to order or instruct (someone to do something)
I told her to send the letter airmail
-
to give an account or narration (of something)
she told me her troubles
-
(tr) to communicate by words; utter
to tell the truth
-
(tr) to make known; disclose
to tell fortunes
-
to serve as an indication
her blush told of her embarrassment
-
(tr; used with can, etc; may take a clause as object) to comprehend, discover, or discern
I can tell what is wrong
-
(tr; used with can, etc) to distinguish or discriminate
he couldn't tell chalk from cheese
-
(intr) to have or produce an impact, effect, or strain
every step told on his bruised feet
-
informal to reveal secrets or gossip (about)
don't tell!
she told on him
-
(tr) to assure
I tell you, I've had enough!
-
(tr) to count (votes)
-
dialect (intr) to talk or chatter
-
informal to tell the truth no matter how unpleasant it is
-
to read the time from a clock
-
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
-
tellssimple
-
have toldperfect
-
has toldperfect
-
am tellingprogressive
-
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:
He noted that it wasn’t compared to a control group and it’s difficult to tell what contributed to changes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
"I can tell myself it was a Harley Davidson," the singer jokes, "but really it was a Yamaha DX100."
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
And the question of how the country’s premier history museum should tell the nation’s story is suddenly up for grabs.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
“These are all original objects and they tell a story. We wanted to place them in an environment that brings them to life and activates them.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
I tell both of them, “Hey, don’t make me separate you two!”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Tell that to shippers who still refuse to send their cargo into the Strait of Hormuz.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Tell her it’s a bureaucratic minefield that would stress anyone out.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Tell me about your mother, who was a civil rights activist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Tell us your thoughts using the comments form at the bottom of this page.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
“I was having so much fun, I forgot all about the time! Tell you what—we’ll just see you girls downstairs. How’s that?”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
“Oh, it’s in the fridge in the gym. In a foil. And there’s chicken in the fridge. Love you too,” MacLachlan tells his son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
It is “a grim reflection of Canadian history,” he tells us, that both men were illiterate—Antoine in 1693, Joseph in 1901.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
"I saw a neurosurgeon who told me I had two tumours, initially I thought it was one, but it was two," Dan tells BBC Newsbeat.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Black learning spaces have always been seen as dangerous,” she tells her students, “not just because of what students do, but because of who you might become.”
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
She tells me the same thing that Rue did—it’s a mistake to get to know these people.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse told reporters he understands the emotions behind the boos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Dobbin added that one senior official at the Home Office told colleagues that the conditions were the worst he had seen in 20 years.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
“We just hope both governments can get together and get this resolved as soon as possible,” Swonger told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
In “The Vanishing Family,” the siblings’ story is mostly told from the clear-eyed perspective of Barb, the youngest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
I talked to Grandma Sadie last week, though, and she told me that when she turned fifteen, the range of her Flash increased.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The author ruminates on Brahms’s inner qualities, telling us that Brahms has been misunderstood as uncivilized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Since the A66 crash, Alex says, his family has been telling him to "get out" of the area.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Putting a plan together for your mother’s finances is not the same as telling her to use her own money.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Williams did not appear on USC’s initial availability report released Wednesday evening after telling reporters Tuesday that he was “ready to go.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
“You can, but that’s beside the point. You’re telling me he never said sorry for nearly getting her killed?”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
