Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

told

/toʊld/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.54 in modern English

Syllables: told
IPA: /toʊld/

5

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

simple past and past participle of tell

noun

Acronym of take-off and landing data

Example Sentences

"A tale is but half told, if only one person tells it."

Etymology

From Middle English tolde, talde (first and third person singular preterite), from Old English tealde (first and third person singular preterite), from Proto-Germanic *talid-, preterite stem of Proto-Germanic *taljaną (“to count; tell”), equivalent to tell + -ed.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: tolde, tealde, *talid-, *taljaną
Suffix: tell

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /toʊld/
British English: /təʊld/

Inflected Forms

telled (alternative, Northern England) telt (alternative, Northern England) tol' (alternative) TOLDs (plural)

Derived Forms

aforetold

Synonyms

telt

Homonyms

tolled

Rhymes With

old hold gold cold sold controlled bold rolled fold enrolled mold behold

Questions

How do you pronounce told?: The recorded pronunciation is /toʊld/.
What does told mean?: simple past and past participle of tell
Where does told come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce told

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “told”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/toʊld/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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