tell on
A2 informal inseparable transitive
In simple words
To go and tell a teacher or parent that someone else did something bad — or for something to start showing it's harming you.
Meanings
1 A2
idiomatic
informal
To report someone's bad behaviour to a parent, teacher, or other authority figure.
"If you keep pulling my hair, I'm going to tell on you to the teacher."
Grammar: inseparable
2 B2
idiomatic
neutral
To have a visible and negative effect on someone, showing in their appearance or behaviour.
"The years of hard work were beginning to tell on his health."
Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes
The 'reporting' sense is very common among children and considered childish or petty when used by adults. The 'negative effect' sense (e.g. 'the stress is telling on him') is more formal and can be used at any age.
Commonly used with
teacher mum dad stress age years
Forms
Base
tell on
I/you/we/they
3rd person
tells on
he/she/it
Past simple
told on
yesterday
Past participle
told on
have + pp
-ing form
telling on
continuous
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Synonyms
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