telltale

[ tel-teyl ]
See synonyms for telltale on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who heedlessly or maliciously reveals private or confidential matters; tattler; talebearer.

  2. a thing serving to reveal or disclose something.

  1. any of various indicating or registering devices, as a time clock.

  2. Music. a gauge on an organ for indicating the air pressure.

  3. an indicator showing the position of a ship's rudder.

  4. a row of strips hung over a track to warn train crew members on freight trains that a low bridge, tunnel, or the like is approaching.

  5. Yachting. (on a sailboat) a feather, string, or similar device, often attached to the port and starboard shrouds and to the backstay, to indicate the relative direction of the wind.

  6. Squash. a narrow piece of metal across the front wall of a court, parallel to and extending 17 inches (43.2 centimeters) above the base: a ball striking this is an out.

adjective
  1. that reveals or betrays what is not intended to be known: a telltale blush.

  2. giving notice or warning of something, as a mechanical device.

Origin of telltale

1
First recorded in 1540–50; tell1 + tale

Other words from telltale

  • telltalely, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use telltale in a sentence

  • "Let's see your fingers," said the mentor, who perceiving no telltales traces of nicotine grunted a qualified approval.

    Skippy Bedelle | Owen Johnson
  • She watched for telltales as for a mouse to show at its hole, and at the worst, I think, she saw only its little head.

    Tommy and Grizel | J.M. Barrie
  • It is a bridge too close to the track for the telltales to sting your face in time to get off a furniture car.

  • Why does she keep her eyes—those honest telltales—so obstinately fixed upon the ground?

    Mrs. Geoffrey | Duchess
  • In not a single instance have they furnished proof, and we do not encourage mere telltales.

    Mary Louise and the Liberty Girls | Edith Van Dyne (AKA L. Frank Baum)

British Dictionary definitions for telltale

telltale

/ (ˈtɛlˌteɪl) /


noun
  1. a person who tells tales about others

    • an outward indication of something concealed

    • (as modifier): a telltale paw mark

  1. any of various indicators or recording devices used to monitor a process, machine, etc

  2. nautical

    • another word for dogvane

    • one of a pair of light vanes mounted on the main shrouds of a sailing boat to indicate the apparent direction of the wind

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012