telegraph

noun

tele·graph | \ ˈte-lə-ˌgraf

Definition of telegraph

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an apparatus for communication at a distance by coded signals especially : an apparatus, system, or process for communication at a distance by electric transmission over wire

2 : telegram

telegraph

verb

telegraphed; telegraphing; telegraphs

Definition of telegraph (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to send or communicate by or as if by telegraph

b : to send a telegram to

c : to send by means of a telegraphic order

2 : to make known by signs especially unknowingly and in advance

Other Words from telegraph Example Sentences Learn More about telegraph

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Other Words from telegraph

Verb

telegrapher \ tə-ˈle-grə-fər

\ noun

telegraphist \ tə-ˈle-grə-fist

\ noun

Examples of telegraph in a Sentence

Noun I sent the message by telegraph. Verb He telegraphed a message to her. Please telegraph when you get there. Please telegraph me when you get there. The look on her face telegraphed bad news. He lost the boxing match because he was telegraphing his punches.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Silence fell for no mail was delivered on Monday and Tuesday – telephone and telegraph became the only means of communication. — David Buie, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Carroll Yesteryears: Blizzard of 1899 brought brutal weather to area," 27 Feb. 2021 And, most disconcertingly, our early electric systems, like the telegraph, experienced their own induced currents, causing shocks, starting fires, and tapping wildly, even when the systems themselves were disconnected entirely. — Ethan Siegel, Forbes, "Ask Ethan: How Prepared Are We For The Next Giant Solar Flare?," 26 Feb. 2021 The 1859 Carrington Event, for example, saw an unusually large coronal mass ejection from the sun release electromagnetic energy that fried telegraph wires worldwide. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Army Is Building the World's Most Powerful Laser Weapon. Ever.," 24 Feb. 2021 This was also one of the largest ice storms ever in Wisconsin history with ice four inches in diameter on telegraph wires. — Star Tribune, "Quiet Monday with highs finally returning to the 40s," 21 Feb. 2021 The telegraph, the ticker, and the telephone in the 19th century allowed stock trading to become a national business dominated by Wall Street. — Chris Farrell, Star Tribune, "Froth in markets of late is reminder to stick to basics," 6 Feb. 2021 The floors boasted mosaic tile, with a newsstand, a flower stand and a telegraph office nestled in three of the four corners. — Mike Scott, NOLA.com, "All aboard to learn about the Southern Railway Terminal, which was once a New Orleans hub," 19 Jan. 2021 In 1845, James Polk’s inaugural address reached more people by telegraph. — New York Times, "Who Was the First New President to …?," 18 Jan. 2021 In 1913 the Coleman Life-like Scoreboard opened at the National Theater in Washington, D.C., bringing in fans to watch live games via a scoreboard that used light bulbs to track the games with information received from telegraph messages. — Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, "From Wickets to Uprights: The History of the Scoreboard," 10 Jan. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The government has sent mixed messages, seeking to telegraph that little will change in most people’s daily lives while at the same time trying to build in an understanding that some disruption is inevitable. — Los Angeles Times, "Auld lang syne: Britain and the EU finally part ways," 31 Dec. 2020 For developers, offering medical care can telegraph a sense of luxury that’s broadly appealing and in keeping with the times. — Candace Jackson, Town & Country, "In High-End Real Estate, Are Doctors the New Doormen?," 27 Dec. 2020 If those numbers don’t telegraph the strain that healthcare workers are facing, listen to the nurses and doctors inside those facilities who are desperate to stem the flow of the sick and dying — and trying to remain calm in the process. — Amina Khan Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus Today: Inside our struggling hospitals," 16 Dec. 2020 The latter is hard to explain, however, as White Sands offers plenty of room for plugging away with a railgun without having to close traffic on the Potomac River and telegraph a test. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Navy Is Firing a Mysterious Weapon Today. It Sure Sounds Like a Railgun.," 1 Dec. 2020 They were picked seemingly for their ability to reach different groups of women voters and represented exactly what Hollywood and the party hoped to telegraph about itself: classy, inclusive, empathic. — Jacob Bernstein, New York Times, "The President’s Backup Band," 12 Nov. 2020 At first glance, those burly tires telegraph serious off-roading skills, and GMC has continued that trend on the inside. — Popular Science, "The 2022 GMC electric Hummer looks a lot different than you might expect," 21 Oct. 2020 The outcome — in which both political parties have invested millions — is expected to telegraph much about the future of Texas politics. — Nic Garcia, Dallas News, "Beth Van Duyne and Candace Valenzuela, locked in congressional race, battle to define Texas suburban way of life," 14 Oct. 2020 Even if no one concedes, results from battleground states like North Carolina and Arizona that start counting their mail-in ballots before Election Day could telegraph the winner to markets. — Matt Egan, CNN, "Wall Street is more worried about a contested election than coronavirus," 1 Oct. 2020

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