tell on

phrasal verb

told on; telling on; tells on

1

informal : to tell someone in authority about the bad behavior or actions of (someone else)

Please don't tell on me.

2

: to have a noticeable effect on (someone or something)

The stress began to tell on her face/health.

Examples of tell on in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Indeed, the royal family only comes together two times a year, during summer, at Balmoral, and during Christmas, so the fact that Andrew was invited and was invited just as the newspapers were very much reporting on the revelations from the autobiography is telling on King Charles’ part. —Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 25 Aug. 2025

Or, more recently, the joke Matt Rife reportedly told on tour in 2024; Russell Peters’s joke from his 2025 YouTube special, Act Your Age; or Ari Shaffir’s joke from his 2025 Netflix special, America’s Sweetheart. —Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025

This will be the third time the story has been told on screen. —Christopher Rudolph, People.com, 6 Aug. 2025

The story being told on-screen mirrors the one ESSENCE has chronicled for generations. —Shelby Stewart, Essence, 4 Aug. 2025

Rhymes for tell on

• anton
• argon
• axon
• baronne
• baryon
• baton
• boron
• buisson
• bygone
• capon
• cardon
• chiffon