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”). 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, Swedish tala (“to speak”). More at tale.
To determine the number, amount, or value of [something].
Archaic outside of idioms
All told, there were over a dozen. Can you tell time on a clock? He had untold wealth.
And in his lap a masse of coyne he told, And turned vpsidowne, to feede his eye A couetous desire with his huge threasury.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
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Well fare the Arabians, who so richly pay The things they traffic for with wedge of gold, Whereof a man may easily in a day Tell that which may maintain him all his life.c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act I:
Only He who made them can tell the number of the stars, and mark the place of each in the order of the one great dominant spiral.1875, Hugh MacMillan, The Sunday Magazine:
2
To notice, discern. (Roughly, "can tell" means "know" but with a sense of direct perception.)
I can tell that you're thrilled.
You can tell you've struck a nerve when even the crowd stops laughing.
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She couldn't tell the words on the chalkboard without her glasses.
Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
› Mental senses related to determining… › To notice, discern. (Roughly, "can tell"…
3
To pick up on a difference. (See tell apart for more.)
An expert can tell an original from a forgery.
Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance? No, there's no way to tell.
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Whether she loves me or loves me not / Sometimes it's hard to tell1892 Harry Dacre, "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)"
› Social senses of communicating
4
To narrate, to recount.
I want to tell a story; I want to tell you a story.
“[…]Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. Oh, dear, there's so much to tell you, so many warnings to give you, but all that must be postponed for the moment.”1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
5
To convey by speech; to say.
Finally, someone told him the truth. He seems to like to tell lies.
I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
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Tell her you’re here.2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
6
To instruct or inform.
Please tell me how to do it.
Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis xii:18:
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But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,[…]. We began to tell her about Mohair and the cotillon, and of our point of observation from the Florentine galleried porch, and she insisted she would join us there.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
7
To order; to direct, to say to someone.
Tell him to go away.
She said she hoped she had not distressed him by the course she had felt obliged to take, and he told her not to be a fool.1909, H. G. Wells, Ann Veronica:
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Stability was restored, but once the re-entry propulsion was activated, the crew was told to prepare to come home before the end of their only day in orbit.2012 October 25, John Noble Wilford, “Neil Armstrong, First Man on the Moon, Dies at 82”, in New York Times:
The driver remained at his post, while telling fireman Jim Nightall to get down on the track and run back to uncouple the burning wagon from the rest.2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948:
8
To use (beads or similar objects) as an aid to prayer.
9
Childish To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.
Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing.
› Abstract senses related to showing or revealing
11
To show, be showing, be revealed.
Cherry looks old, Mergenthaler told himself. His age is telling. Querulous — that's the word. He's become a whining, querulous old man absorbed with trivialities.1990, Stephen Coonts, Under Siege, 1991 Pocket Books edition, p.409
12
To reveal.
Time will tell what became of him.
13
To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.
Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell.
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.1918, William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style:
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[...] the 4 miles at 1 in 180 up to Sanquhar were mounted with no greater fall in speed than from 65 to 59 m.p.h., after which, possibly as a result of easing the engine or because the strain on steam supply was beginning to tell, the final 3½ miles up at 1 in 200 up to milepost 59½ were surmounted at a minimum of 49½ m.p.h.1960 April, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 212:
But England's superior fitness told in the second half, with Delon Armitage, Manu Tuilagi and Chris Ashton (two) going over for tries to secure a bonus-point win.2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport:
14
(of a fact) To support a certain position.
Opinion ought [… to give] merited honour to every one, whatever opinion he may hold[…]keeping nothing back which tells, or can be supposed to tell, in their favour.1859, John Stuart Mill, On Liberty:
For these reasons, I conclude that this factor tells in favour of Italy as the proper forum for the litigation between the parties.1999 July 14, James C. MacPherson, “Eastern Power Limited v. Azienda Communale Energia and Ambiente, 1999 CanLII 3785 (ON CA)”, in CanLII, retrieved 09 Jun 2026:
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”). 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, Swedish tala (“to speak”). More at tale.
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
Informal A giveaway; something that unintentionally reveals or hints at a secret.
Those whose business it is to verify luxury bags insist, at least publicly, that there’s always a “tell” to a superfake.2023 May 4, Amy X. Wang, Grant Cornett, “Inside the Delirious Rise of ‘Superfake’ Handbags”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey said recently that “Israel is the only state in the world whose fundamental right to exist, within any borders at all, is openly denied by other states.” But Israel is the only nation with a “right to exist,” as the phrase is not commonly attached to any other country. And that’s the tell: This is not a legal concept, but a political one, available for broad interpretation and rhetorical weaponization.2024 January 3, John Patrick Leary, “Israel's "Right to Exist" Is a Rhetorical Trap”, in The New Republic:
Etymology From Arabic تَلّ (tall, “hill, elevation”) or Hebrew תֵּל (tél, “hill”), from Proto-Semitic *tall- (“hill”).
1
Archaeology, History, Human sciences, Sciences 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.2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 205: