tale

noun

ˈtāl 

1

a

: a usually imaginative narrative of an event : story

b

: an intentionally untrue report : falsehood

… always preferred the tale to the truth …

—Sir Winston Churchill

2

a

: a series of events or facts told or presented : account

b(1)

: a report of a private or confidential matter

dead men tell no tales

(2)

: a libelous report or piece of gossip

3

a

: count, tally

b

: total

4

obsolete : discourse, talk

Synonyms of tale

• story
• whisper

Examples of tale in a Sentence

The movie is a stirring tale of courage.

We listened to his familiar tale of woe as he talked again about the failure of his marriage.

He told us thrilling tales about his adventures as a pilot in the war.

Are you telling tales again? Or is that the truth?

Recent Examples on the Web

But we’re soon immersed in a tale about the pair crossing 50 miles of Alaskan wilderness after their small seaplane goes down. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 28 Sep. 2026

The 92-minute feature, directed by Robert Wise, was released as Cold War fears were at the top of the headlines and was intended as a cautionary tale (decades later, the studio remade the film with Keanu Reeves and an aughts sheen in 2008). — Thr Staff, HollywoodReporter, 28 Sep. 2026

Color was a tale of two halves, as is often the case in Milan. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026

Pay attention, Zischler proposed, to all the doors that open and close in the film—the entrances and exits that mark the progress of the tale. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English talu; akin to Old Norse tala talk

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Phrases Containing tale

• fairy-tale
• old wives' tale
• spin a tale
• tale of woe
• tale-teller
• tall tale/story
• thereby hangs a tale

Rhymes for tale

• ail
• ale
• bail
• baile
• dail
• fail
• flail
• frail
• gael
• gail
• grail
• hail

Kids Definition

tale

noun

ˈtā(ə)l 

1

: something told

a tale of woe

2

: a story about an imaginary event

a fairy tale

3

: a false story : lie

4

: a piece of harmful gossip

spread tales about us