cable television

noun

Updated on: 15 May 2018

Definition of cable television

: 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

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See cable television defined for kids

Recent Examples of cable television from the Web

Following his failed 1994 bid for to represent Virginia in the U.S. Senate, North has been a regular on cable television news.

— lauren young, Teen Vogue, "Meet Oliver North: Everything to Know About the NRA's New President," 8 May 2018
Trump was irked by Giuliani's interview on ABC News Sunday, particularly the clip of Giuliani refusing to rule out him pleading the Fifth Amendment, which has since played on a near-constant loop on cable television.

— jay willis, GQ, "Trump Shocked to Learn Human 56k Modem Rudy Giuliani Is Not the Sharpest Defense Lawyer," 8 May 2018
Saracho is now the first Latina ever to run a premium cable television show.

— refinery29.com, "How Starz Is Making History With Its Addictive New Latino Show, Vida," 4 May 2018
Spectrum, the most common provider of cable television service in Central Florida, took over service to Bright House Networks customers in 2016 when Charter merged with Time Warner Cable and Bright House.

— bill zimmerman, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Spectrum Mobile to offer wireless next month to broadband customers, report says," 3 May 2018
She had been married before, and was starring on a successful basic-cable television series, Suits.

— josh duboff, Vanities, "Meghan Markle Is Going Royal—Can Her Friends Come, Too?," 24 Apr. 2018
The party that passed over Ned Lamont in favor of Dannel P. Malloy eight years ago is now clearing a lane for the wealthy Greenwich cable television entrepreneur in this year’s governor’s race.

— neil vigdor, courant.com, "Democrats Coalescing Around Ned Lamont In Governor's Race," 28 Apr. 2018
But few law professors can match Dershowitz’s name recognition, his long history of supporting Democrats, or his frequent appearances on cable television.

— matt ford, The New Republic, "What Happened to Alan Dershowitz?," 23 Apr. 2018
Vaguely intellectual escapism has a long, proud history on cable television (and in American pop culture more generally), and Westworld ably slots into this tradition.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "Westworld season 2 takes cues from The Walking Dead — and it kinda, sorta works," 18 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cable television.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of cable television

1951

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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