Tell /(tĕl)/

Tell

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Told; p. pr. & vb. n. Telling

  1. To mention one by one, or piece by piece; to recount; to enumerate; to reckon; to number; to count; as, to tell money.
    He telleth the number of the stars.
    — Ps. cxlvii. 4.
    Tell the joints of the body.
  2. To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to narrate.
    Of which I shall tell all the array.
    And not a man appears to tell their fate.
  3. To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge.
    Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
    — Gen. xii. 18.
  4. To give instruction to; to make report to; to acquaint; to teach; to inform.
    A secret pilgrimage, That you to-day promised to tell me of?
  5. To order; to request; to command.
    He told her not to be frightened.
  6. To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to find out; to discover; as, I can not tell where one color ends and the other begins.
  7. To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to estimate. [Obs.]
    I ne told no dainity of her love.

Phrases & Compounds
To tell off
to count; to divide.

Tell

v. i.
  1. To give an account; to make report.
    That I may publish with the voice of thankgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
    — Ps. xxvi. 7.
  2. To take effect; to produce a marked effect; as, every shot tells; every expression tells.
    Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David.
    — 1 Sam. xxvii. 11.

Phrases & Compounds
To tell of
To speak of; to mention; to narrate or describe.
To tell on
to inform against.

Tell

n.
  1. That which is told; tale; account. [R.]
    I am at the end of my tell.

Tell

n.
  1. A hill or mound.