Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tel

/tˈɛl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.90 in modern English

Syllables: tel
IPA: /tˈɛl/

3

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Abbreviation of telephone number.

noun

Abbreviation of telegraph.

noun

Abbreviation of telegram.

noun

Alternative form of tell (“hill or mound”).

noun

tetraethyllead (or tetraethyl lead, tetra-ethyl lead); a gasoline additive to boost octane rating

noun

A label for telephone number.

noun

Initialism of transporter erector launcher.

name

A nickname for the given name Terry.

Example Sentences

"2021, Luke Hindmarsh, 3:33 AM "Tel, you alright, mate? It's Jack. Jack, Eddie's brother." He stepped forward and round the chair, one hand reaching towards Terry to reassure him."

Inflected Forms

tels (plural)

Derived Forms

telco

Rhymes With

well tell hell sell hotel cell fell bell el personnel nfl smell

Questions

How do you pronounce tel?: The recorded pronunciation is /tˈɛl/.
What does tel mean?: Abbreviation of telephone number.

How to pronounce tel

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tel”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tˈɛl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tel”.
Repeat and practice — Say “tel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.