1. (verb) Tell, William Tell
a Swiss patriot who lived in the early 14th century and who was renowned for his skill as an archer; according to legend an Austrian governor compelled him to shoot an apple from his son's head with his crossbow (which he did successfully without mishap)
2. (verb) state, say, tell
express in words
"He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name"
3. (verb) tell
let something be known
"Tell them that you will be late"
4. (verb) tell, narrate, recount, recite
narrate or give a detailed account of
"Tell what happened"; "The father told a story to his child"
5. (verb) order, tell, enjoin, say
give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority
"I said to him to go home"; "She ordered him to do the shopping"; "The mother told the child to get dressed"
6. (verb) tell
discern or comprehend
"He could tell that she was unhappy"
7. (verb) assure, tell
inform positively and with certainty and confidence
"I tell you that man is a crook!"
8. (verb) tell, evidence
give evidence
"he was telling on all his former colleague"
9. (verb) distinguish, separate, differentiate, secern, secernate, severalize, severalise, tell, tell apart
mark as different
"We distinguish several kinds of maple"
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Definition of 'tell' 
