told

[ tohld ]

/ toʊld /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR told ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense and past participle of tell¹.

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anchorite

a granular metamorphic rock.

a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.

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Idioms for told

all told, counting everyone or everything; in all: There were 50 guests all told.

OTHER WORDS FROM told

well-told, adjective

Words nearby told

toland, tolar, tolbooth, tolbutamide, tolbutamide test, told, tole, toledo, tolerable, tolerance, tolerance dose

Definition for told (2 of 2)

tell¹

[ tel ]

/ tɛl /

verb (used with object), told, tell·ing.

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.

to announce or proclaim.

to utter (the truth, a lie, etc.).

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), told, tell·ing.

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 Phrases

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.

tell on, to tattle on (someone).

Origin of tell

before 900; Middle English tellen, Old English tellan to relate, count; cognate with Dutch tellen to reckon, count, Old Norse telja to count, say, Old High German zellēn; akin to tale

SYNONYMS FOR tell

1 recount, describe, report.

2 impart.

4 speak.

6 disclose, betray; acknowledge, own, confess; declare.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR tell ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for told

I remember H. Jon Benjamin told me it was a way-too-late apology for Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“We talked about the science the whole time the other day,” Krauss told The Daily Beast in a phone interview.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On Dec. 22, 1799, Sands told her cousins that she would be leaving to elope with a fellow boarder named Levi Weeks that night.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is a blow against freedom of speech, we were told, by the likes of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

“We quietly did,” Reed previously told The Daily Beast of removing ISIS.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That fiendish woman lied, then, when she told me that you shuddered at my very name?
The Lamplighter|Maria S. Cummins
We told the Moros that they would all have to work if the Americans should come.
The Great White Tribe in Filipinia|Paul T. Gilbert
I was told that the bones were not replaced but that sticks were inserted to maintain the fingers in proper shape.
The Medicine-Men of the Apache. (1892 N 09 / 1887-1888 (pages 443-604))|John G. Bourke
"We shall not forget what you have told us," said Gilbert, as the wreck prepared to leave the room.
The Mystery of Lincoln's Inn|Robert Machray
I bowed my head to conceal the expression which might have told his lordship that I intended to do nothing of the kind.
The International Spy|Allen Upward

British Dictionary definitions for told (1 of 4)

told

/ (təʊld) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of tell 1

adjective

See all told

British Dictionary definitions for told (2 of 4)

Tell

/ (tɛl) /

noun

William, German name Wilhelm Tell. a legendary Swiss patriot, who, traditionally, lived in the early 14th century and was compelled by an Austrian governor to shoot an apple from his son's head with one shot of his crossbow. He did so without mishap

British Dictionary definitions for told (3 of 4)

tell¹

/ (tɛl) /

verb tells, telling or told

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to let know or notifyhe told me that he would go

(tr) to order or instruct (someone to do something)I told her to send the letter airmail

(when intr, usually foll by of) to give an account or narration (of something)she told me her troubles

(tr) to communicate by words; utterto tell the truth

(tr) to make known; discloseto tell fortunes

(intr often foll by of) to serve as an indicationher blush told of her embarrassment

(tr; used with can, etc; may take a clause as object) to comprehend, discover, or discernI can tell what is wrong

(tr; used with can, etc) to distinguish or discriminatehe couldn't tell chalk from cheese

(intr) to have or produce an impact, effect, or strainevery step told on his bruised feet

(intr sometimes foll by on) informal to reveal secrets or gossip (about)don't tell!; she told on him

(tr) to assureI tell you, I've had enough!

(tr) to count (votes)

(intr) dialect to talk or chatter

informal, mainly US to tell the truth no matter how unpleasant it is

tell the time to read the time from a clock

you're telling me slang I know that very well

Derived forms of tell

tellable, adjective

Word Origin for tell

Old English tellan; related to Old Saxon tellian, Old High German zellen to tell, count, Old Norse telja

British Dictionary definitions for told (4 of 4)

tell²

/ (tɛl) /

noun

a large mound resulting from the accumulation of rubbish on a long-settled site, esp one with mudbrick buildings, particularly in the Middle East

Word Origin for tell

C19: from Arabic tall

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

Idioms and Phrases with told (1 of 2)

told

see all told; I told you so; little bird told me. also see under tell.

Idioms and Phrases with told (2 of 2)

tell

In addition to the idioms beginning with tell

tell apart
tell a thing or two
tell it like it is
tell it to the Marines
tell me
tell off
tell on
tell someone where to get off
tell tales
tell time

also see:

do tell
kiss and tell
show and tell
something tells me
there's no telling
thing or two, tell a
time will tell
which is which, tell
you never can tell
you're telling me

Also see undertold.

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WORD OF THE DAY

told

verb