Meanings
verbtell time (third-person singular simple present tells time, present participle telling time, simple past and past participle told time)
present singular third person tells time · participle present telling time · participle past told time · past told time · alternative tell the time
- specificallyTo read the time as displayed on an analog clock.
He couldn't tell time until he was in his teens.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo measure time, to determine the current time.
Similar
Origin
From tell in the sense of “count”.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French donner l'heure, chronométrer
- donner l'heureto measure time
- chronométrerto measure time
- donner l'heureto read a clock
- dire l'heureto read a clock
Portuguese ler as horas
- ler as horasto read a clock
Cite this entry
APA
tell time. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tell%20time
MLA
“tell time.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tell%20time. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tell time,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tell%20time.
Source: tell time on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.