cable television

noun

: a system of television reception in which signals from distant stations are picked up by a master antenna and sent by cable to the individual receivers of paying subscribers

called also cable TV

Examples of cable television in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At Arlington City Hall, the day’s City Council meeting ended early, and Mayor Elzie Odom urged calm in a rare, live cable television broadcast. — Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Sep. 2026

The first Practical Magic was a fun mess whose cinematography, set design, and approach felt warm and easy to return to when flipping through channels in the age of cable television. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

The new approach provides more choice, but someone who mastered cable television may initially find the supposedly simpler streaming world confusing. — Mark Vena, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Sponsored telecasting means free, over-the-air telecasts—the kind that were commonplace before cable television, when people placed antennas on their televisions or roofs to pick up signals from a handful of channels. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cable television

• abscission
• collision
• decision
• derision
• division
• elision
• envision
• excision
• incision
• misprision
• precision
• prevision

Kids Definition

cable television

noun

: a system of television reception in which signals from distant stations are picked up by a main antenna and sent by cable to the sets of paying subscribers

called also cable TV