telegraph
Syllables: tel·e·graphUK/ˈtɛl.ɪ.ɡɹɑːf//ˈtɛl.ɪ.ɡɹæf/
telegraph noun: synonym of telegraphy, any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a symbolic code.
Noun
telegraph (plural telegraphs)
- Synonym of telegraphy, any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a symbolic code.
- This strict sense of telegraph developed from French usage for Napoleon's overland semaphore network but rather arbitrarily excludes similar Chinese and other signalling networks.
- Synonyms:
- telegraphy, any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a symbolic code
- The electrical device gradually developed in the early 19th century to transmit messages (telegrams) using Morse code; the entire system used to transmit its messages including overhead lines and transoceanic cables.
- The first message transmitted by telegraph in the United States was WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT.
- The Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He[…]played a lone hand,[…]. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin—but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01
- A visible or audible cue that indicates to an opponent the action that a character is about to take.
Verb
telegraph (third-person singular simple present telegraphs, present participle telegraphing, simple past and past participle telegraphed)
- To use a telegraph; to send a message by telegraph.
- Whenever this portent occurs, my steward telegraphs to me, that I, as head of the family, be not unsteeled against the shock of a bereavement […]1911, Max Beerbohm, chapter 5, in Zuleika Dobson, London: Heinemann, published 1922, page 60
- In "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," Sherlock Holmes telegraphs Watson: "Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from the West of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. […]."1957 May, Neil Caplan, “Railways in English Fiction”, in Railway Magazine, page 349
- To clearly communicate to another nonverbally (whether by gesture, a change in attitude, or any other sign), and especially unintentionally.
- Her frown telegraphed her displeasure.
- He took a jab and telegraphed his punch so loudly that I was able to land a solid right hand to his stomach.2007, James A. Rozhon, The Man in the Maze
telegraph meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
telegraph in Hindi
- chiefly historical: electrical device
- टेलीग्राफ़ ṭelīgrāf, दूरलेख dūrlekh, टेलिग्राफ़ ṭeligrāf
telegraph in Tamil
- தொலைவரைவு, தந்தி
telegraph in Marathi
- chiefly historical: electrical device
- टेलिग्राफ ṭeligrāph
- video games: visible or audible cue
- टेलिग्राफ ṭeligrāph
telegraph in Urdu
- chiefly historical: electrical device
- ٹیلی گِراف ṭelī girāf, ٹیلی گْراف ṭelī grāf, ٹیلِیگْراف ṭelīgrāf
More languagesFewer languages
- telegraph in Bengali
- টেলিগ্রাফ ṭeligraph
- telegraph in Telugu
- తంతి tanti
- telegraph in Malayalam
- കമ്പി kampi
- telegraph in Kannada
- ತಂತಿಯಂಚೆ, ತಂತಿ ಸುದ್ದಿಯ ಸಲಕರಣೆ, ತಂತಿಸಂದೇಶ, ತಂತಿಲೇಖ
- telegraph in Gujarati
- તારયંત્ર tāryantra
- telegraph in Pashto
- ټليګراف ṭelegrāf, تلګراف telegrāf
- telegraph in Arabic
- تِلِغْرَاف tiliḡrāf, بَرْقِيَّة barqiyya, بَرْق barq
- telegraph in Malay
- telegraf
- telegraph in Indonesian
- penyurat kawat, telegraf
- telegraph in Thai
- โทรเลข too-rá-lêek
- telegraph in Vietnamese
- máy điện báo, điện báo
- telegraph in Myanmar
- ကြေးနန်း kre:nan:
Examples of telegraph in a sentence
- The thing that had killed them was the telegraph.1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius/Part I:
- He is telegraphing a shift away from wartime crisis mode back toward the aura of a calm, paternalistic leader shielding Russians from the dangers of the world.2022 June 30, Anton Troianovski, “Patient and Confident, Putin Shifts Out of Wartime Crisis Mode”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Synonyms of telegraph
- telegraphy
- any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a symbolic code
Forms of telegraph
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | telegraphs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | telegraphs |
| present participle | telegraphing |
| past participle | telegraphed |
| past | telegraphed |
Origin of telegraph
Borrowed from French télégraphe, equivalent to tele- (“far, distant”) + -graph (“writing”), suggested as a new name for Claude Chappe's overland semaphore network by André François Miot de Mélito in place of Chappe's original tachygraphe (“tachygraph, fast writer”).
Words formed from telegraph
- autotelegraph
- bush telegraph
- drum telegraph
- electric telegraph
- electrotelegraph
- engine order telegraph
- jungle telegraph
- magnetic telegraph
- marconigraph
- moccasin telegraph
- mukluk telegraph
- needle telegraph
- omnigraph
- optical telegraph
- pantelegraph
- phototelegraph
- pretelegraph
- printing telegraph
- radiotelegraph
- random telegraph noise
- telegraph blank
- telegraph block
- telegraph blue
- telegraph board
- telegraph boy
- telegraph cable
- telegraph carriage
- telegraph clerk
- telegraph clock
- telegraph coach
- telegraph cock
- telegraph code
- telegraph company
- telegraph cucumber
- telegraph dial
- telegraph editor
- telegrapheme
- telegrapher
- telegraphese
- telegraph form
- Telegraph Hill
- telegraph house
- telegraphic
- telegraphical
- telegraph instrument
- telegraphist
- telegraph key
- telegraph-like
- telegraphlike
- telegraph line
- telegraph message
- telegraph office
- telegraphone
- telegraph operator
- telegraphoscope
- telegraph plant
- Telegraph Point
- telegraph pole
- telegraph post
- telegraph reel
Phrases with telegraph
- telegraph boys
- telegraph wire
- telegraph codes
- telegraph lines
- telegraph poles
- telegraph posts
- telegraph stamp
- telegraph wires
- telegraph plants
- telegraph stamps
- telegraph offices
- wireless telegraph
2 more phrasesFewer phrases
Questions about telegraph
- What does telegraph mean?
- Telegraph means synonym of telegraphy, any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a symbolic code.
- What is telegraph in Hindi?
- Telegraph in Hindi is टेलीग्राफ़ (ṭelīgrāf), दूरलेख (dūrlekh), टेलिग्राफ़ (ṭeligrāf). See Telegraph meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use telegraph in a sentence?
- The thing that had killed them was the telegraph.
- What part of speech is telegraph?
- Telegraph can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce telegraph?
- Telegraph is pronounced /ˈtɛl.ɪ.ɡɹɑːf/ (UK).
- What is the plural of telegraph?
- The plural of telegraph is telegraphs.
Words near telegraph in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: telegraph (page history and authors); telegraph (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); తంతి (Telugu) (page history and authors); കമ്പി (Malayalam) (page history and authors); telegraph (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-telegraph.ogg.
Cite this entry: “telegraph.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/telegraph. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.