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Synonyms

teller

1 American  
[tel-er] / ˈtɛl ər /

noun

  1. a person or thing that tells, relates, or communicates; narrator.

    Grandpa was a great teller of tall, tall tales.

  2. a person employed in a bank to receive or pay out money over the counter.

  3. a person who tells, counts, or enumerates, as one appointed to count votes in a legislative body.

Teller 2 American  
[tel-er] / ˈtɛl ər /

noun

  1. Edward, 1908–2003, U.S. physicist, born in Hungary.

teller 1 British  
/ ˈtɛlə /

noun

  1. another name for cashier 1

  2. a person appointed to count votes in a legislative body, assembly, etc

  3. a person who tells; narrator

"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
Teller 2 British  
/ ˈtɛlə /

noun

  1. Edward. 1908–2003, US nuclear physicist, born in Hungary: a major contributor to the development of the hydrogen bomb (1952)

"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

Other Word Forms

  • tellership noun
  • underteller noun

Etymology

Origin of teller

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50; tell 1, -er 1

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.

Officials in Los Angeles County warned that elderly Asians withdrawing cash from automated teller machines to participate in a Lunar New Year tradition could be vulnerable to robberies.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

Shane Greenlee, a 22-year-old bank teller, said he keeps most of his portfolio in tech companies such as Nvidia and the AI infrastructure provider Nebius Group.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Out of politeness, you extend this assumption even if you’ve seen the teller sprint for the sofa at family gatherings when the time comes to clear the table or grab a broom.

From Salon • Jan. 14, 2026

You’re a generous parent, not a Federal Reserve committee member or a Nobel Prize-winning economist — and certainly not a fortune teller.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 7, 2025

Asra was puzzled by the injection of the teller into the tale.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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.