telegraph
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.an old machine used to send messages over long distances using electricity and wires.
n.a historical telecommunications device or system used to transmit text messages via electrical signals, typically using Morse code.
Simple“Before the telephone was invented, people used the telegraph to send urgent news across the country.”
In context“The invention of the electric telegraph revolutionized global commerce by allowing information to travel faster than a physical courier for the first time in history.”
UsageOften used with the definite article 'the' to refer to the system as a whole.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
v.to show what you are going to do next through your movements or expression, often without meaning to.
v.to unintentionally communicate an intended action or feeling through non-verbal cues or body language.
Simple“The boxer telegraphed his next move by looking down at his opponent's feet.”
In context“The negotiator inadvertently telegraphed her lack of confidence by fidgeting with her pen whenever the price was mentioned.”
Teacher's tipThis figurative sense is very common in sports and gaming contexts to describe predictable behavior.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to send a message using a telegraph machine.
v.to transmit a message via a telegraphic system.
Simple“The general telegraphed his orders to the troops at the front line.”
In context“The diplomat telegraphed the terms of the treaty back to the capital, awaiting a response from the prime minister.”
“Since then, technology has advanced past the telegraph.”
“And before there was music on telephones, there was music on telegraphs.”
Borrowed from French télégraphe, equivalent to tele- (“far, distant”) + graph (“writing”), suggested as a new name for Claude Chappe's overland semaphore network by André François Miot de Mélito in place of Chappe's original tachygraphe (“tachygraph, fast writer”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.