tell on
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
With four picks on the final day of the draft, Carolina Panthers general manager Dan Morgan didn’t provide any tells on what or who the team might be thinking.
—
Joseph Person, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Bob McKinley’s bio is still on Weatherford College’s website, even though he was told on Tuesday that he was being fired as the women’s basketball coach, ending a career at a school that started in 1977.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2026
The thief is not caught, and the story is told on a porch stoop to another woman.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Or a tell on the defensive risk of the Herro-Powell pairing?
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tell on
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Joseph Person, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2026
Bob McKinley’s bio is still on Weatherford College’s website, even though he was told on Tuesday that he was being fired as the women’s basketball coach, ending a career at a school that started in 1977.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2026
The thief is not caught, and the story is told on a porch stoop to another woman.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2026
Or a tell on the defensive risk of the Herro-Powell pairing?
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 25 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tell on
Cite this Entry
“Tell on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell%20on. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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