4
VERB
If you
telex
a message to someone, you send it to them by telex. □ [V
n + to
]
The embassy says it has telexed their demands to the foreign ministry.
□ [V
n]
They telexed their parents.
tell
◆◆◆ /te
l/ (tells
, telling
, told
)
1
VERB
If you
tell
someone something, you give them information. □ [V
n that]
In the evening I returned to tell Phyllis our relationship was over.
□ [V
n wh]
I called Andie to tell her how spectacular the stuff looked.
□ [V
n n]
Claire had made me promise to tell her the truth.
□ [V
n + to
]
I only told the truth to the press when the single was released.
□ [V
n + about
]
Tell us about your moment on the summit.
□ [V
with quote]
Her voice breaking with emotion, she told him: 'It doesn't seem fair.'
[Also V
of
n]
2
VERB
If you
tell
something such as a joke, a story, or your personal experiences, you communicate it to other people using speech. □ [V
n]
His friends say he was always quick to tell a joke.
□ [V
n + to
]
He told his story to The Sunday Times and produced photographs.
□ [V
n n]
Will you tell me a story?
3
VERB
If you
tell
someone to
do something, you order or advise them to do it. □ [V
n to-inf]
A passer-by told the driver to move his car so that it was not causing an obstruction.
4
VERB
If you
tell
yourself
something, you put it into words in your own mind because you need to encourage or persuade yourself about something. □ [V
pron-refl with quote]
'Come on,' she told herself.
□ [V
pron-refl that]
I told myself that I would be satisfied with whatever I could get.
5
VERB
[no cont] If you can
tell
what is happening or what is true, you are able to judge correctly what is happening or what is true. □ [V
wh]
It was already impossible to tell where the bullet had entered.
□ [V
that]
You can tell he's joking.
6
VERB
[no cont] If you can
tell
one thing from
another, you are able to recognize the difference between it and other similar things. □ [V
n + between
]
I can't really tell the difference between their policies and ours.
□ [V
n + from
]
How do you tell one from another?
□ [V
wh]
I had to look twice to tell which was Martin; the twins were almost identical.
7
VERB
If you
tell
, you reveal or give away a secret. [INFORMAL
] □ [V
]
Many of the children know who they are but are not telling.
8
VERB
If facts or events
tell
you something, they reveal certain information to you through ways other than speech. □ [V
n that]
The facts tell us that this is not true.
□ [V
n amount]
I don't think the unemployment rate ever tells us much about the future.
□ [V
n n]
The evidence of our eyes tells us a different story.
□ [V
n]
While most of us feel complacent about our diets, the facts tell a very different story.
9
VERB
If an unpleasant or tiring experience begins to
tell
, it begins to have a serious effect. □ [V
]
The pressure began to tell as rain closed in after 20 laps.
10
→ see also
kiss-and-tell
,
telling
11
PHRASE
You use
as far as
I
can tell
or
so far as
I
could tell
to indicate that what you are saying is based on the information you have, but that there may be things you do not know. [VAGUENESS
] □
As far as I can tell, Jason is basically a nice guy.
