What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Cell vs Tell - What's the difference?

cell | tell |

In transitive terms the difference between cell and tell

is that cell is to place or enclose in a cell while tell is to reveal.

cell

English

Etymology 1

(etyl) , later reinforced by (etyl) cel, (sele), (etyl) cele.

Noun

(en noun) (wikipedia cell)
  • A single-room dwelling for a hermit.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , VI.6:
  • So, taking them apart into his cell , / He to that point fit speaches gan to frame […].
  • A small room in a monastery or nunnery accommodating one person.
  • Gregor Mendel must have spent a good amount of time outside of his cell .
  • Each of the small hexagonal compartments in a honeycomb.
  • * 1858 , (Asa Gray), Introduction to Structural and Systematic Botany , fifth edition, p. 282:
  • Each of the two cells or lobes of the anther is marked with a lateral line or furrow, running from top to bottom.
  • (obsolete) Specifically, any of the supposed compartments of the brain, formerly thought to be the source of specific mental capacities, knowledge, or memories.
  • * 1890 , (Oscar Wilde), The Picture of Dorian Gray , ch.XVI:
  • From cell' to ' cell of his brain crept the one thought; and the wild desire to live, most terrible of all man's appetites, quickened into force each trembling nerve and fibre.
  • A section or compartment of a larger structure.
  • *, II.12:
  • Thou seest but the order and policie of this little Cell .
  • * 1810 , (Walter Scott), Lady of the Lake , II:
  • Not long shall honour'd Douglas dwell, / Like hunted stag, in mountain-cell .
  • A room in a prison for one or more inmates.
  • The combatants spent the night in separate cells .
  • A device which stores electrical]] power; used either singly or together in [[battery, batteries; the basic unit of a battery.
  • This MP3 player runs on 2 AAA cells .
  • (biology) The basic unit of a living organism, consisting of a quantity of protoplasm surrounded by a cell membrane, which is able to synthesize proteins and replicate itself.
  • * 1999 , Paul Brown & Dave King, The Guardian , 15 Feb 1999:
  • An American company has applied to experiment in Britain on Parkinson's disease sufferers by injecting their brains with cells from pigs.
  • * 2011 , Terence Allen & Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction , Oxford 2011, p. 3:
  • In multicellular organisms, groups of cells form tissues and tissues come together to form organs.
  • (meteorology) A small thunderstorm, caused by convection, that forms ahead of a storm front.
  • There is a powerful storm cell headed our way.
  • (computing) The minimal unit of a cellular automaton that can change state and has an associated behavior.
  • The upper right cell always starts with the color green.
  • (card games) In FreeCell-type games, a space where one card can be placed.
  • A small group of people forming part of a larger organization, often an outlawed one.
  • Those three fellows are the local cell of that organization.
  • (communication) A short, fixed-length packet as in .
  • Virtual Channel number 5 received 170 cells .
  • (communication) A region of radio reception that is a part of a larger radio network.
  • I get good reception in my home because it is near a cell tower.
  • (geometry) A three-dimensional facet of a polytope.
  • (statistics) The unit in a statistical array (a spreadsheet, for example) where a row and a column intersect.
  • (architecture) The space between the ribs of a vaulted roof.
  • (architecture) A cella.
  • (entomology) An area of an insect wing bounded by veins
  • Usage notes
    In the sense of an electrical device, "cell" is the technically correct name for a single unit of battery-type power storage, whereas a battery is a device comprising multiple of them, though it is often used for simple cells.
    Synonyms
    * See also
    Derived terms
    (terms derived from "cell") * battery cell * blood cell * brain cell * cancer cell * cellbound * cell division * cell house * cell line * cell membrane * cell theory * cell type * cellblock * cellmate * dry cell * fat cell * fuel cell * germ cell * helper T cell * host cell * photoconductive cell * photoelectric cell * photoemissive cell * photovoltaic cell * prison cell * nerve cell * red cell * red blood cell * sickle cell * skin cell * solar cell * stem cell * T cell

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To place or enclose in a cell.
  • * Warner
  • Celled under ground.
    (Webster 1913)

    Etymology 2

    From (cell phone), from (cellular phone), from (cellular) + (telephone)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, informal) A cellular phone.
  • Usage notes
    * Widely used attributively.

    tell

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) ((etyl) telja). More at tale.

    Verb

  • (lb) To count, reckon, or enumerate.
  • :
  • *1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , II.vii:
  • *:And in his lap a masse of coyne he told , / And turned vpsidowne, to feede his eye / A couetous desire with his huge threasury.
  • *1875 , Hugh MacMillan, The Sunday Magazine :
  • *:Only He who made them can tell the number of the stars, and mark the place of each in the order of the one great dominant spiral.
  • (lb) To narrate.
  • :
  • *, chapter=7
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“
  • (lb) To convey by speech; to say.
  • :
  • *, chapter=4
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.}}
  • (lb) To instruct or inform.
  • :
  • *Bible, (w) xii. 18
  • *:Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud,
  • (lb) To order; to direct, to say to someone.
  • :
  • *(Charles Dickens) (1812-1870)
  • *:He told her not to be frightened.
  • *'>citation
  • *:Stability was restored, but once the re-entry propulsion was activated, the crew was told to prepare to come home before the end of their only day in orbit.
  • (lb) To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.
  • :
  • *
  • *:Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.
  • (lb) To reveal.
  • :
  • (lb) To be revealed.
  • *1990 , (Stephen Coonts), Under Siege, 1991 (Pocket Books) edition, ISBN 0671742949, p.409:
  • *:Cherry looks old, Mergenthaler told himself. His age is telling . Querulous — that's the word. He's become a whining, querulous old man absorbed with trivialities.
  • (lb) To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.
  • :
  • *1859 (John Stuart Mill), (On Liberty)
  • *:Opinion ought [… to give] merited honour to every one, whatever opinion he may holdkeeping nothing back which tells', or can be supposed to ' tell , in their favour.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia , passage=But England's superior fitness told in the second half, with Delon Armitage, Manu Tuilagi and Chris Ashton (two) going over for tries to secure a bonus-point win.}}
    Synonyms
    * (enumerate) count * (narrate) narrate, recount, relate
    Antonyms
    * (to instruct or inform) ask
    Derived terms
    * all told * tell against * tell all * tell-all * tell off * tell on * tell-tale / telltale * tell tales * tell tales out of school * teller

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A reflexive, often habitual behavior, (especially) one occurring in a context that often features attempts at deception by persons under psychological stress (such as a poker game or police interrogation), that reveals information that the person exhibiting the behavior is attempting to withhold.
  • That which is told; tale; account.
  • * Walpole
  • I am at the end of my tell .
  • (internet) A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.
  • See also
    * dead giveaway

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (archaeology) A mound, originally in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.
  • Verb

    (head)