tell

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To give someone information by speaking or writing.

   Please tell me what happened at the meeting.

2. 2
   verb

   To say a story aloud to someone.

   My grandfather loved to tell stories about his childhood.

3. 3
   verb

   To know or recognize something by noticing details.

   I could tell that she was upset, even though she said nothing.

4. 4
   noun

   A small sign that accidentally reveals what someone is feeling or hiding.

   His nervous laugh was a clear tell that he was lying.

Common collocations

• tell a story Verb + noun
• tell a joke Verb + noun
• tell the truth Verb + noun

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”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian tälle (“to say; tell”), West Frisian telle (“to count”), West Frisian fertelle (“to tell, narrate”), Dutch tellen (“to count”) and Dutch vertellen (“to tell”), Low German tellen (“to count”), German zählen, Faroese telja. More at tale.

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