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

Forty-five years later, Cottrell's story was told on Long Lost Family, with the team discovering that her biological son, Paul Clarke, a university lecturer, was still living in Liverpool and had been married to his partner, Owen, for 20 years. —Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 25 Sep. 2025

The pressure of perfection starts to tell on Redford’s character, Paul, who winds up drunk, in Washington Square Park, in broad daylight, tipping garbage over himself. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025

Bejo will play Alice Guy Blaché in Alice, the first time the visionary’s story has been told on screen. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025

Has this embarrassment of visual riches guaranteed that any story told on a smaller canvas is doomed to feel unambitious in comparison? —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for tell on

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