Telegram Meaning
/ˈtɛləˌɡɹæm/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA message transmitted by telegraph.
verbTo send a telegram.
Sentence Examples
Your telegram arrived just as I was about to telephone you.
On his arrival in London, he sent me a telegram.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the past, a ____ delivered a short written message using wires and Morse code.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In the past, people would send a ____ to deliver very important or urgent news to their family and friends today.
Word Origin & History
From tele- + -gram.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy.[…]Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the purser's office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams."
— 1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC:
"On 20 May 1937 when down in Bradford-on-Avon on business, Bulleid received a telegram with the cryptic news: 'Sir Herbert Walker wishes to see you twelve thirty tomorrow—Gresley'."
— 1979 August, Graham Burtenshaw, Michael S. Welch, “O.V.S. Bulleid's SR loco-hauled coaches - 1”, in Railway World, page 394:
"Indians awoke on Monday to find their 162-year-old telegram service rendered obsolete, superseded by SMS, e-mail and Twitter.
Arguably one of the oldest victims of the digital age, telegrams were the fastest communication method from the 19th century."
— 2013 July 15, Monica Sarkar, “The day telegrams came to a final STOP”, in CNN:
"In the brouhaha over the reappointment of Superior Court Judge Sylvia Pressler, we organized massive support - telegramming, telephoning and writing to encourage the State Senate to exercise its advise and consent function responsibly."
— 1984 August 5, “Women Lawyers Unit Describes Its Role”, in The New York Times:
"He was a very posh chap from Oxfordshire, whose dad had been Chancellor and whose mum was obliged to keep telegramming round to find him a job because little Winnie had flunked out of his very expensive school."
— 2021, Otto English, Fake History, page 23:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the past, a ____ delivered a short written message using wires and Morse code.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In the past, people would send a ____ to deliver very important or urgent news to their family and friends today.