tell
Forms
- present (v1)
- tell
- past (v2)
- told
- past participle (v3)
- told
- present participle
- telling
- 3rd person singular
- tells
- Plural
- tells
Definitions
1.Mental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving
- I can tell that you're thrilled.
- An expert can tell an original from a forgery.
- She couldn't tell the words on the chalkboard without her glasses.
2.Social senses of communicating
- I saw you steal those sweets! I'm telling!
- I want to tell a story; I want to tell you a story.
- Finally, someone told him the truth. He seems to like to tell lies.
3.Abstract senses related to showing or revealing
- Time will tell what became of him.
- Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell.
- For these reasons, I conclude that this factor tells in favour of Italy as the proper forum for the litigation between the parties.
1.A reflexive, often habitual behavior, especially one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
2.A giveaway; something that unintentionally reveals or hints at a secret.(informal)
- Those whose business it is to verify luxury bags insist, at least publicly, that there’s always a “tell” to a superfake.
3.A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.
4.A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.
- Succoth is now associated with a large tell situated in the Jordan Valley, Deir Allah.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #92
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Very common
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Common
Related words
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English tellen (“to count, tell”), from Old English tellan (“to count, tell”), from Proto-West Germanic *talljan, from Proto-Germanic *taljaną, *talzijaną (“to count, enumerate”), from Proto-Germanic *talą, *talō (“number, counting”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”).