tele·graph
ˈte-lə-ˌgraf 
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
telegraphed; telegraphing; telegraphs
1
a
: 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
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
Paul Begala, New York Times, 31 May 2025
Readers are likely aware of the transatlantic slave trade, the laying of telegraph lines in the nineteenth century, and the waging of wars by sea; name-checking these undertakings here does not meaningfully open up the book’s aperture.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 June 2025
While the arrangement still needs to be approved by the federal government, executives at both airlines are telegraphing optimism about the prospects.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for telegraph
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Noun
There was money to be made peddling lies about swashbuckling frontier gunfighters across hundreds of miles of telegraph wires to clerks in cities around the country.
—Paul Begala, New York Times, 31 May 2025
Readers are likely aware of the transatlantic slave trade, the laying of telegraph lines in the nineteenth century, and the waging of wars by sea; name-checking these undertakings here does not meaningfully open up the book’s aperture.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
Verb
Come to find, the emotional authenticity matters even more, since actors can’t telegraph what their characters are feeling quite so broadly as CG Vikings do.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 June 2025
While the arrangement still needs to be approved by the federal government, executives at both airlines are telegraphing optimism about the prospects.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 2 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for telegraph
Cite this Entry
“Telegraph.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telegraph. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
telegraph
1 of 2 noun
tele·graph
ˈtel-ə-ˌgraf
: an electric device or system for sending messages by a code over wires
telegraphic
adjective
ˌtel-ə-ˈgraf-ik
telegraphically
adverb
-ˈgraf-i-k(ə-)lē
telegraph
2 of 2 verb1
: to send by or as if by telegraph
telegraphed a message
2
: to send a telegram to
telegraphed home for money
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