The difference between Count and Tell

When used as nouns, count means the act of counting or tallying a quantity, whereas tell means a reflexive, often habitual behavior, 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.

When used as verbs, count means to recite numbers in sequence, whereas tell means to count, reckon, or enumerate.


check bellow for the other definitions of Count and Tell

  1. Count as a verb (intransitive):

    To recite numbers in sequence.

    Examples:

    "Can you count to a hundred? The psychiatrist asked her to count down from a hundred by sevens."

  2. Count as a verb (transitive):

    To determine the number (of objects in a group).

    Examples:

    "There are three apples; count them."

  3. Count as a verb (intransitive):

    To be of significance; to matter.

    Examples:

    "Your views don't count here. It does count if you cheat with someone when you're drunk."

  4. Count as a verb (intransitive):

    To be an example of something: and an indefinite noun}}.

    Examples:

    "Apples count as a type of fruit."

  5. Count as a verb (transitive):

    To consider something an example of something.

    Examples:

    "He counts himself a hero after saving the cat from the river. I count you as more than a friend."

  6. Count as a verb (obsolete):

    To take account or note (of).

  7. Count as a verb (UK, legal):

    To plead orally; to argue a matter in court; to recite a count.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Burrill"

  1. Count as a noun:

    The act of counting or tallying a quantity.

    Examples:

    "Give the chairs a quick count to check if we have enough."

  2. Count as a noun:

    The result of a tally that reveals the number of items in a set; a quantity counted.

  3. Count as a noun:

    A countdown.

  4. Count as a noun (legal):

    A charge of misconduct brought in a legal proceeding.

  5. Count as a noun (baseball):

    The number of balls and strikes, respectively, on a batter's in-progress plate appearance.

    Examples:

    "He has a 3-2 count with the bases loaded."

  6. Count as a noun (obsolete):

    An object of interest or account; value; estimation.

  1. Count as a noun:

    The male ruler of a county.

  2. Count as a noun:

    A nobleman holding a rank intermediate between dukes and barons.

  1. Tell as a verb (transitive):

    To count, reckon, or enumerate.

    Examples:

    "All told, there were over a dozen.  Can you tell time on a clock?  He had untold wealth."

  2. Tell as a verb (transitive):

    To narrate.

    Examples:

    "I want to tell a story;  I want to tell you a story."

  3. Tell as a verb (transitive):

    To convey by speech; to say.

    Examples:

    "Finally, someone told him the truth.  He seems to like to tell lies."

  4. Tell as a verb (transitive):

    To instruct or inform.

    Examples:

    "Please tell me how to do it."

  5. Tell as a verb (transitive):

    To order; to direct, to say to someone.

    Examples:

    "'Tell him to go away."

  6. Tell as a verb (intransitive):

    To discern, notice, identify or distinguish.

    Examples:

    "Can you tell whether those flowers are real or silk, from this distance?  No, there's no way to tell."

  7. Tell as a verb (transitive):

    To reveal.

    Examples:

    "Time will tell what became of him."

  8. Tell as a verb (intransitive):

    To be revealed.

  9. Tell as a verb (intransitive):

    To have an effect, especially a noticeable one; to be apparent, to be demonstrated.

    Examples:

    "Sir Gerald was moving slower; his wounds were beginning to tell."

  10. Tell as a verb:

    To use beads or similar objects as an aid to prayer.

  11. Tell as a verb (intransitive, childish):

    To inform someone in authority about a wrongdoing.

    Examples:

    "I saw you steal those sweets! I'm going to tell!"

  12. Tell as a verb:

    To reveal information in prose through outright expository statement -- contrasted with show

    Examples:

    "Maria rewrote the section of her novel that talked about Meg and Sage's friendship to have less telling and more showing."

  1. Tell as a noun:

    A reflexive, often habitual behavior, 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.

  2. Tell as a noun (archaic):

    That which is told; a tale or account.

  3. Tell as a noun (internet):

    A private message to an individual in a chat room; a whisper.

  1. Tell as a noun (archaeology):

    A hill or mound, originally and especially in the Middle East, over or consisting of the ruins of ancient settlements.