A telegram is a message that is sent electronically and then printed and delivered to someone's home or office. In the past, telegrams were sent by telegraph.
Scores of congratulatory telegrams and letters greeted Franklin on his return.
She received a briefing by telegram.
Synonyms: cable, wire [informal], telegraph, telex More Synonyms of telegram
telegram in British English
(ˈtɛlɪˌɡræm)
noun
a communication transmitted by telegraph
See also cable (sense 5), Telemessage
Derived forms
telegrammatic (ˌtɛlɪɡrəˈmætɪk) or telegrammic (ˌteleˈgrammic)
adjective
telegram in American English
(ˈtɛləˌgræm)
US
noun
a message transmitted by telegraph
Word origin
tele- + -gram
Examples of 'telegram' in a sentence
telegram
If there was an urgent vacancy you might receive a telegram.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There were phone calls and letters and telegrams coming into the prison offering me jobs and asking for leniency for me.
Sidney Sheldon The Other Side of Me
His emotional journey begins as he realises that one day he will deliver the telegram saying that his older brother is dead.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Young people got killed, and their parents at home received the dreaded telegram.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
I'm very proud to have received the telegram.
The Sun (2010)
Or it was like reading a million little telegram messages being beamed out like an SOS to the world.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Lily May herself had just turned 21 when the telegram arrived saying that her husband was missing.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Thousands sent telegrams and letters of support, and many included money to help "Ollie" cover the cost of his defense.
Garraty, John Arthur The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877 (1995)
Upon the second day of his absence I received a telegram from the major, imploring me to come at once.
Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
I wondered also if you would know what I was trying to say in the telegram.
Christianity Today (2000)
Word lists with
telegram
America
In other languages
telegram
British English: telegram /ˈtɛlɪˌɡræm/ NOUN
A telegram is a message that is sent by electricity or radio and then printed and delivered to someone's home or office.
The president received the news by telegram.
American English: telegram
Arabic: تِلِغْراف
Brazilian Portuguese: telegrama
Chinese: 电报
Croatian: brzojav
Czech: telegram
Danish: telegram
Dutch: telegram
European Spanish: telegrama
Finnish: sähke
French: télégramme
German: Telegramm
Greek: τηλεγράφημα
Italian: telegramma
Japanese: 電報
Korean: 전보
Norwegian: telegram
Polish: telegram
European Portuguese: telegrama
Romanian: telegramă
Russian: телеграмма
Latin American Spanish: telegrama
Swedish: telegram
Thai: โทรเลข
Turkish: telgraf
Ukrainian: телеграма
Vietnamese: bức điện tín
Chinese translation of 'telegram'
telegram
(ˈtɛlɪɡræm)
n(c)
电(電)报(報) (diànbào) (个(個), gè)
(noun)
Definition
(formerly) a message transmitted by telegraph
The President received a briefing by telegram.
Synonyms
cable
wire (informal)
I sent him a wire congratulating him.
telegraph
telex
radiogram
Additional synonyms
in the sense of telegraph
Definition
(formerly) a system by which information could be transmitted over a distance, using electrical signals sent along a cable