telltale
a person who heedlessly or maliciously reveals private or confidential matters; tattler; talebearer.
a thing serving to reveal or disclose something.
any of various indicating or registering devices, as a time clock.
Music. a gauge on an organ for indicating the air pressure.
an indicator showing the position of a ship's rudder.
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.
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.
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.
that reveals or betrays what is not intended to be known: a telltale blush.
giving notice or warning of something, as a mechanical device.
Origin of telltale
1Other 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 JohnsonShe 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. BarrieIt is a bridge too close to the track for the telltales to sting your face in time to get off a furniture car.
Letters from an Old Railway Official | Charles DeLano HineWhy does she keep her eyes—those honest telltales—so obstinately fixed upon the ground?
Mrs. Geoffrey | DuchessIn 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
/ (ˈtɛlˌteɪl) /
a person who tells tales about others
an outward indication of something concealed
(as modifier): a telltale paw mark
any of various indicators or recording devices used to monitor a process, machine, etc
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
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