Definitions
1.VerbMental senses related to determining, reckoning, or perceiving
To determine the number, amount, or value of [something]."All told, there were over a dozen. Can you tell time on a clock? He had untold wealth.; I can tell that you're thrilled.; You can tell you've struck a nerve when even the crowd stops laughing.; She couldn't tell the words on the chalkboard without her glasses.; 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."
2.VerbTo determine the number, amount, or value of [something]."All told, there were over a dozen. Can you tell time on a clock? He had untold wealth."
3.VerbTo 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.; She couldn't tell the words on the chalkboard without her glasses.; 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."
4.VerbTo 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."
5.VerbSocial senses of communicating
To narrate, to recount."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.; Please tell me how to do it.; Tell him to go away.; I saw you steal those sweets! I'm telling!; Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing."
6.VerbTo narrate, to recount."I want to tell a story; I want to tell you a story."
7.VerbTo convey by speech; to say."Finally, someone told him the truth. He seems to like to tell lies."
8.VerbTo instruct or inform."Please tell me how to do it."
9.VerbTo order; to direct, to say to someone."Tell him to go away."
10.VerbTo use (beads or similar objects) as an aid to prayer.
11.VerbTo inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing."I saw you steal those sweets! I'm telling!"
12.VerbTo reveal information in prose through outright expository statement — contrasted with show."Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing."
13.VerbAbstract senses related to showing or revealing
To show, be showing, be revealed.
To reveal."Time will tell what became of him.; Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell."
14.VerbTo show, be showing, be revealed.
15.VerbTo reveal."Time will tell what became of him."
16.VerbTo have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated."Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell."
17.NounA 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.
18.NounA giveaway; something that unintentionally reveals or hints at a secret.
19.NounThat which is told; a tale or account.
20.NounA private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.
21.NounA hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.