To tell off

To tell off
Tell Tell (t[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Told} (t[=o]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Telling}.] [AS. tellan, from talu tale, number, speech; akin to D. tellen to count, G. z["a]hlen, OHG. zellen to count, tell, say, Icel. telja, Dan. tale to speak, t[ae]lle to count. See {Tale} that which is told.] 1. To mention one by one, or piece by piece; to recount; to enumerate; to reckon; to number; to count; as, to tell money. ``An heap of coin he told.'' --Spenser. [1913 Webster]

He telleth the number of the stars. --Ps. cxlvii. 4. [1913 Webster]

Tell the joints of the body. --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]

2. To utter or recite in detail; to give an account of; to narrate. [1913 Webster]

Of which I shall tell all the array. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

And not a man appears to tell their fate. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

3. To make known; to publish; to disclose; to divulge. [1913 Webster]

Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? --Gen. xii. 18. [1913 Webster]

4. To give instruction to; to make report to; to acquaint; to teach; to inform. [1913 Webster]

A secret pilgrimage, That you to-day promised to tell me of? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. To order; to request; to command. [1913 Webster]

He told her not to be frightened. --Dickens. [1913 Webster]

6. To discern so as to report; to ascertain by observing; to find out; to discover; as, I can not tell where one color ends and the other begins. [1913 Webster]

7. To make account of; to regard; to reckon; to value; to estimate. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

I ne told no dainity of her love. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

Note: Tell, though equivalent in some respect to speak and say, has not always the same application. We say, to tell truth or falsehood, to tell a number, to tell the reasons, to tell something or nothing; but we never say, to tell a speech, discourse, or oration, or to tell an argument or a lesson. It is much used in commands; as, tell me the whole story; tell me all you know. [1913 Webster]

{To tell off}, to count; to divide. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]

Syn: To communicate; impart; reveal; disclose; inform; acquaint; report; repeat; rehearse; recite. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • tell off someone — tell off (someone) to tell someone that their behavior is not acceptable. I was told off by my best friend, and it was a long time before I could forgive her. He s always been obnoxious and it s about time someone told him off …   New idioms dictionary

  • tell off — (someone) to tell someone that their behavior is not acceptable. I was told off by my best friend, and it was a long time before I could forgive her. He s always been obnoxious and it s about time someone told him off …   New idioms dictionary

  • tell off — [v] reprimand; criticize harshly berate, censure, chide, give piece of one’s mind*, give tongue lashing*, lecture, rail, rake over the coals*, rebuke, reproach, reprove, revile, scold, take to task*, tick off*, upbraid, vituperate; concepts 44,52 …   New thesaurus

  • tell off — verb reprimand She told the misbehaving student off • Syn: ↑brush down • Hypernyms: ↑call on the carpet, ↑take to task, ↑rebuke, ↑rag, ↑trounce, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • tell off — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms tell off : present tense I/you/we/they tell off he/she/it tells off present participle telling off past tense told off past participle told off informal to criticize someone angrily for doing something wrong… …   English dictionary

  • To tell off — Off Off ([o^]f; 115), adv. [OE. of, orig. the same word as R. of, prep., AS. of, adv. & prep. [root]194. See {Of}.] In a general sense, denoting from or away from; as: [1913 Webster] 1. Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile off …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tell off — {v.} 1. To name or count one by one and give some special duty to; give a share to. * /Five boy scouts were told off to clean the camp./ 2. {informal} To speak to angrily or sharply; attack with words; scold. * /Mr. Black got angry and told off… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • tell off — {v.} 1. To name or count one by one and give some special duty to; give a share to. * /Five boy scouts were told off to clean the camp./ 2. {informal} To speak to angrily or sharply; attack with words; scold. * /Mr. Black got angry and told off… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • tell\ off — v 1. To name or count one by one and give some special duty to; give a share to. Five boy scouts were told off to clean the camp. 2. informal To speak to angrily or sharply; attack with words; scold. Mr. Black got angry and told off the boss.… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • tell off — PHRASAL VERB If you tell someone off, you speak to them angrily or seriously because they have done something wrong. [V n P] He never listened to us when we told him off... [V n P for n/ ing] I m always being told off for being so awkward... [V P …   English dictionary

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