- (n.) An arrangement consisting of long strips, as of rope, wire or leather, hanging from a bar over railroad tracks, in such a position as to warn freight brakemen of their approach to a low overhead bridge.
- (n.) A thing that serves to disclose something or give information; a hint or indication.
- (n.) One who officiously communicates information of the private concerns of others; one who tells that which prudence should suppress.
- (n.) A mechanical attachment to the steering wheel, which, in the absence of a tiller, shows the position of the helm.
- (n.) A machine or contrivance for indicating or recording something, particularly for keeping a check upon employees, as factory hands, watchmen, drivers, check takers, and the like, by revealing to their employers what they have done or omitted.
- (n.) A compass in the cabin of a vessel, usually placed where the captain can see it at all hours, and thus inform himself of the vessel's course.
- (a.) Telling tales; babbling.
- (n.) The tattler. See Tattler.
- (n.) A movable piece of ivory, lead or other material, connected with the bellows of an organ, that gives notice, by its position, when the wind is exhausted.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). telltale. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/telltale/definitions/2070977 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "telltale" http://smartdefine.org/telltale/definitions/2070977 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, telltale, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/telltale/definitions/2070977>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "telltale" 28 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/telltale/definitions/2070977> |