tell all

/ˌtɛl ˈɔːl/

//ˌtɛl ˈɔːl// verb

"tell-all" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tell all” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To reveal everything, particularly information that is normally withheld.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tell-all · tell all · English

tell all · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for tell all
PropertyValue
Headwordtell all
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌtɛl ˈɔːl/
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “tell all” in English

tell allranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

tell all is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˌtɛl ˈɔːl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for tell all, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is tell all, spelled T-E-L-L- -A-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    To reveal everything, particularly information that is normally withheld.
  2. 2
    Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tell, all.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tell all appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The suspect told all when he saw the surveillance tapes linking him to the crime scene.
  2. The actress's earthy new book tells all.

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tell all"?
"tell all" is spelled T-E-L-L- -A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌtɛl ˈɔːl/.
What does "tell all" mean?
As a verb, "tell all" means: To reveal everything, particularly information that is normally withheld.
How do you pronounce "tell all"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tell all" is /ˌtɛl ˈɔːl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "tell all" come from?
"tell all" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list