tell
verb (used with object)
to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.).
was telling
-
past progressiveof tell.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Collins was telling me this story while he and I drove around the town where he and his brother grew up.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
“And then we’re on the block and Sage is like, ‘yo, this is bro I was telling you about.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
What I was telling him he would broadcast down the line to the other students.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Two days before US-Canada trade talks dramatically derailed, Vice-President JD Vance was telling an audience at a private fundraiser that Prime Minister Mark Carney was a "very sweet guy".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Maybe Oliver was telling them about our encounter this morning, how I’d flung my phone onto the sidewalk, how I’d barely been able to speak to him.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
