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
Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Other states followed suit, and by the mid-80s, crank-phone technology had gone the way of the telegraph machine.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Aug. 2025
White worked over the paragraph a third time, and telegraphed it to the magazine.
—Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for telegraph
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Noun
Forecasters sent gale warnings via telegraph to more than 100 stations.
—Frank Witsil, Freep.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Other states followed suit, and by the mid-80s, crank-phone technology had gone the way of the telegraph machine.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025
Verb
Such details might have sounded like clichés in a lesser writer’s hands, but Huston weaves them in such that Hank’s crisis doesn’t telegraph the personal redemption that potentially awaits him.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Aug. 2025
White worked over the paragraph a third time, and telegraphed it to the magazine.
—Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 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 4 Sep. 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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