television

noun, often attributive

tele·vi·sion | \ ˈte-lə-ˌvi-zhən,

especially British ˌte-lə-ˈvi-\

Definition of television

1 : an electronic system of transmitting transient images of fixed or moving objects together with sound over a wire or through space by apparatus that converts light and sound into electrical waves and reconverts them into visible light rays and audible sound

2 : a television receiving set

3a : the television broadcasting industry

b : television as a medium of communication

c : programming distributed over the Internet that is designed to be viewed in the same format as broadcast television A couple of couch companions watching TV on tablets might not see the same thing any more, even when watching the same shows. Ad personalization—routine for most of the Web—has come to streaming television.— Donna Howell The quarter was the 10th anniversary of Netflix's streaming service, which began with the vision that internet television would ultimately replace traditional television.— Emily Steel

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Synonyms for television

Synonyms

boob tube, box, idiot box, telly [chiefly British], tube, TV

Examples of television in a Sentence

people who turn on the television the minute they walk in the door

Recent Examples on the Web

People won't even tell their friends what their salaries are, and yet these women are on national television, telling their deepest, darkest secrets, showing us their worst pain. — Oronike Odeleye, Glamour, "The Co-Founder of #MuteRKelly on the R. Kelly Docuseries and What Real Justice Will Take," 10 Jan. 2019 Since 1957, the speech has been broadcast on television, and during last year's broadcast, the Queen welcomed Meghan Markle into the family. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Queen Elizabeth Displayed Six Special Royal Family Photos During Her Christmas Broadcast," 28 Dec. 2018 The overall arc hews fairly close to Vaughan and Alphona’s comics run, apart from substituting Jonah in for the Gibborim — a group of ancient giants that would have been pretty hard to make work on television. — Samantha Nelson, The Verge, "Season 2 of Runaways forges a bold new path — eventually," 21 Dec. 2018 Mayra Arevich, president of the Cuban state telecom monopoly ETECSA, went on national television to say Cubans can begin contracting 3G service for the first time Thursday. — Andrea Rodriguez, The Seattle Times, "Cuba to begin full internet access for mobile phones," 5 Dec. 2018 This actually exacerbates the usual problems with episodic television. — Samantha Nelson, The Verge, "Season 2 of Runaways forges a bold new path — eventually," 21 Dec. 2018 The whole topic even caused some confusion on daytime television recently, when Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo gave some questionable advice about ovarian cancer screening on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show this week. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Ovarian Cancer Screening Isn't as Simple as Getting an Ultrasound," 24 Oct. 2018 Don’t say architecture can’t be funny; the structure was originally topped with a gilded antenna, both a reference to the religious spires that dot the Philadelphia skyline and a sly wink at the most popular pastime of retirees, watching television. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Masterpieces of Robert Venturi, a postmodern architecture icon," 20 Sep. 2018 In June, television host and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain died by suicide. — refinery29.com, "Open Letter Urges Cyber Bullies To Stop Blaming Asia Argento For Anthony Bourdain’s Death," 13 July 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near television

television transmitter

Statistics for television

Last Updated

17 Jan 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for television

The first known use of television was in 1900

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More Definitions for television

television

noun

English Language Learners Definition of television

: an electronic system of sending images and sounds by a wire or through space

: a piece of equipment with a screen that receives images and sounds sent by television

: programs that are broadcast by television

See the full definition for television in the English Language Learners Dictionary

television

noun

tele·vi·sion | \ ˈte-lə-ˌvi-zhən

Kids Definition of television

1 : an electronic system of sending images and sound over a wire or through space by devices that change light and sound into electrical signals and then change these back into light and sound

2 : a piece of equipment with a screen and speakers that reproduces images and sound

3 : programs that are broadcast by television