cable

1 of 2

noun

ca·​ble ˈkā-bəl How to pronounce cable (audio)
often attributive
1
a
: a strong rope especially of 10 inches (25 centimeters) or more in circumference
b
: a cable-laid rope
c
: a wire rope or metal chain of great tensile strength
d
: a wire or wire rope by which force is exerted to control or operate a mechanism
2
3
a
: an assembly of electrical conductors insulated from each other but laid up together (as by being twisted around a central core)
b
: cablegram
also : a radio message or telegram
4
: something resembling or fashioned like a cable
a fiber-optic cable
5
a
: cable television
a house with cable
b
: a cable infrastructure used to provide services other than television
often used before another noun
cable Internet
cable telephony

cable

2 of 2

verb

cabled; cabling ˈkā-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce cable (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to fasten with or as if with a cable
2
: to provide with a cable or cables
3
: to telegraph by submarine cable
4
: to make into a cable or into a form resembling a cable

intransitive verb

: to communicate by a submarine cable
cabler
ˈkā-b(ə-)lər
noun

Examples of cable in a Sentence

Noun The bridge is held up by cables. Their company supplied cable for the project. We need more cable to hook up the computers. Verb She cabled the news to the United States. She cabled her parents for money. The soldiers cabled back to headquarters. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Dropping four series at once is not a minor move for the cable network. Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Sep. 2023 Some Fox shareholders have also been skeptical of a deal with News Corp, arguing that News Corp’s newspaper businesses, including The Wall Street Journal, are not complementary with Fox Corporation’s entertainment assets, including the Fox broadcast network and the FS1 sports cable network. Benjamin Mullin, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023 Murdoch built a small Australian newspaper business into a sprawling corporate empire that, at its height, included a movie studio, a television network and a roster of cable channels. Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 21 Sep. 2023 Over the next seven decades, Murdoch pushed aggressively into British and American markets, buying up newspapers, launching the Fox network, acquiring the 20th Century Fox film studio and upending the cable news scene with the debut of Fox News in 1996. Allison Morrow, CNN, 21 Sep. 2023 These included film production, rights to the Marvel comics, National Geographic and the cable network FX. David Bauder, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2023 Those who haven’t entirely renounced the GOP, like former Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger and former Pennsylvania Representative Charlie Dent, have nonetheless become cable news fixtures who speak progressives’ language. Ben Jacobs, The New Republic, 21 Sep. 2023 These included film production, rights to certain Marvel comics, National Geographic, and the cable network FX. David Bauder, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2023 That permission generally comes after the satellite/cable company agrees to pay for it. Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Sep. 2023
Verb
In 2010, the service expanded to a satellite TV station, and then to cable in 2012, using a subscription model like HBO or NFL Network. Sasha Richie, Dallas News, 10 July 2023 The journalists were frustrated at being muzzled, but were powerless in the face of a system designed to control every word cabled from Moscow. Alan Philps, Town & Country, 5 July 2023 In wake of Tucker Carlson’s ouster, will cable news turn down the volume? Katie Robertson, BostonGlobe.com, 30 June 2023 With a portfolio spanning across networks like E!, Bravo, Syfy and USA Network, NBCUniversal is bringing plenty of new programs to cable for fans of unscripted reality television and sci-fi drama. Sophia Scorziello, Variety, 9 May 2023 But why is football worth so much to cable? Aaron Pressman, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2021 In other words, streaming won’t quite return NBCU to cable TV’s heyday. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2023 Neither would cable, streaming services or social media. Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2023 Trying to cable or tie them back to the main trunk is almost always wasted energy. oregonlive, 20 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin capulum lasso, from Latin capere to take — more at heave entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

circa 1500, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cable was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near cable

Cite this Entry

“Cable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cable. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

cable

1 of 2 noun
ca·​ble ˈkā-bəl How to pronounce cable (audio)
1
: a very strong thick rope, wire, or chain
2
: a wire or wire rope by which force is applied to operate a piece of machinery
brake cable
3
: a bundle of electrical wires held together usually around a central core
4
5

cable

2 of 2 verb
cabled; cabling ˈkā-b(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce cable (audio)
1
: to fasten or provide with a cable
2
: to telegraph by cable

Biographical Definition

Cable

biographical name

Ca·​ble ˈkā-bəl How to pronounce Cable (audio)
George Washington 1844–1925 American novelist

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