telegraph
Americannoun
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an apparatus, system, or process for transmitting messages or signals to a distant place, especially by means of an electric device consisting essentially of a sending instrument and a distant receiving instrument connected by a conducting wire or other communications channel.
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Nautical. an apparatus, usually mechanical, for transmitting and receiving orders between the bridge of a ship and the engine room or some other part of the engineering department.
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a message sent by telegraph; a telegram.
verb (used with object)
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to transmit or send (a message) by telegraph.
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to send a message to (a person) by telegraph.
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Informal. to divulge or indicate unwittingly (one's intention, next offensive move, etc.), as to an opponent or to an audience; broadcast.
The fighter telegraphed his punch and his opponent was able to parry it. If you act nervous too early in the scene, you'll telegraph the character's guilt.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a device, system, or process by which information can be transmitted over a distance, esp using radio signals or coded electrical signals sent along a transmission line connected to a transmitting and a receiving instrument
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( as modifier )
telegraph pole
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a message transmitted by such a device, system, or process; telegram
verb
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to send a telegram to (a person or place); wire
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(tr) to transmit or send by telegraph
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informal (tr) boxing to prepare to deliver (a punch) so obviously that one's opponent has ample time to avoid it
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(tr) to give advance notice of (anything), esp unintentionally
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informal (tr) to cast (votes) illegally by impersonating registered voters
Other Word Forms
- pretelegraph adjective
- retelegraph verb
- telegrapher noun
- telegraphist noun
- untelegraphed adjective
Etymology
Origin of telegraph
< French télégraphe (1792) a kind of manual signaling device; tele- 1, -graph
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Treated seriously or not, the story of the Fox sisters and the spirits spread farther and faster due to the invention of the telegraph.
From Literature
The administration also telegraphed that Mexico was in its sights.
From Salon
On the weekly chart, Amazon has a history of telegraphing meaningful turns through classic candlestick patterns.
From Barron's
But England were 11 points adrift with just 26 minutes left, when Matt Fagerson's charge down of Ford's somewhat telegraphed drop-goal attempt paved the way for Scotland centre Huw Jones' second try of the match.
From Barron's
For now, the bond market is telegraphing that “the Fed’s current interest-rate trajectory under Fed Chair Jerome Powell is the correct way to manage risks.”
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
