What does told mean?
Told is an irregular English verb, serving as both the past tense and past participle of tell. Its most common use is to mean that someone has given another person information: a friend told them the news, a guide told them the route, or a manager told an employee what to do. In narrative contexts, told can introduce an account of events, as in telling a story or recounting an experience. It can also mean that someone revealed information, especially when answering a question, or distinguished between people or things. The form changes from tell to told in the past, while the present participle is telling. Because told is so common in speech and informal writing, formal prose often favors alternatives such as informed, reported, or recounted when those distinctions are useful. As a vocabulary word, told illustrates both the historical irregularity of English verbs and the way one form can carry several closely related meanings.
verbTold is the past tense and past participle of tell. It means to give someone information, recount something, reveal a fact, or distinguish one person or thing from another.
- Gave someone information or made something known to them.
- Gave an account of an event, story, or experience.
- Revealed or disclosed information, especially in response to a question.
- Distinguished one person or thing from another.
"She told us that the meeting had been postponed."
"The witness told the court what she had seen that evening."
"Even in the dim light, he could tell the twins apart."
Unlike most regular verbs, tell changes its vowel as well as its ending when it becomes told.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does told come from?
Told comes from Old English tellan, an inherited Germanic verb meaning to count, tell, or recount. The Old English preterite included the form tælde, which developed through Middle English forms such as tolde into modern told. Related English forms include tale, tally, and teller, reflecting the word’s long association with counting, accounting, and giving an account.
How told is actually used
Told is strongly irregular: the present participle is telling, and the past tense and past participle are told. In formal narrative writing, words such as recounted or reported may be preferred when the focus is on presenting an account rather than simply informing someone.
Easily confused with told
Told is the past tense and past participle of tell, whereas toll can mean to ring a bell or to charge a fee.