How to Use tell in a Sentence

tell

verb
  • Has she told you the good news, yet?
  • He told us the story.
  • She looked at the palm of my hand and told me my fortune.
  • If you see her, tell her hello for me.
  • I promise not to tell anyone.
  • I can't tell you because it's a secret.
  • Please tell us your name and occupation.
  • What all of that would mean for the midwives of Poplar, only time will tell.
    — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, 26 Mar. 2023
  • Klug told Shape that the two work out three days a week together.
    — Emily Shiffer, Women's Health, 19 July 2023
  • In short, that means telling the chatbot to behave in a way it has been told not to.
    — Matt Burgess, WIRED, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Keep an eye on any unusual changes, I was told, and come back in a year.
    — Beth Sobol, Allure, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Schroer told The Star at the Missouri Capitol that he had not been served the lawsuit.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
  • Bartenders can tell that all of this work has gone into the product.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 1 Feb. 2024
  • Ishiguro published Klara and the Sun in 2021, with the project told from the point of view of Klara, a robot companion.
    — Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2024
  • Not just someone who is looking to info dump or tell their mentee what to do.
    — Lisa Conn, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
  • There is something for me about seeing Alex and telling his story.
    — Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Aug. 2023
  • The owner will tell you that the cost of subscription is the cost of an application, but that’s not true.
    — Cio, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024
  • At least 1,700 buildings were destroyed, Green told CNN.
    — Karin Brulliard, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2023
  • Those are real people out there who trusted me and told their stories to me.
    — Madison Feller, ELLE, 8 Apr. 2023
  • It’s based in hard skills and socio-emotional learning, that is told through fun and joy.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 1 Feb. 2024
  • But the fact that Carpenter, a defender, was involved in the attack told much of the story.
    — Frank Dell'apa, BostonGlobe.com, 31 July 2023
  • The witness who recorded the cell phone footage also told Fox 11 that Carrillo's speech seemed to be slurred.
    — Alexis Jones, Peoplemag, 5 Nov. 2023
  • From the driver’s side, the other officer observes, then tells the teen not to reach under the seat.
    — David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2023
  • Without spoiling the 2018 results of the case for those who haven’t seen the film: How did telling this story change you as a storyteller?
    — Stacey Wilson Hunt, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023
  • Beyond merely precocious, her voice carries the weight of one who’s seen some things and lived to tell about them.
    — Matthew Ismael Ruiz, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024
  • The man told officers he’d been attacked at a homeless camp in nearby Cobb Park.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Whereas women were once told to get smaller, today’s health experts are championing getting stronger.
    — Alexa Mikhail, Flow Space, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Adam told his fellow Panarchists about our bind, and they were stoked to host one of the world’s wildest bands.
    — Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
  • As for reproduction, the keepers don’t need to tell the roaches twice.
    — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 13 Feb. 2026
  • No one is really safe in The Pitt, but every patient has a story to tell.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tell.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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