cable

KAY-buhl/ˈkeɪ.bəl/

14 meanings of cable

1
electric wiresnouncountable or uncountable
An assembly of one or more wires used for electrical power or data circuits, with insulation around some or all of it.
Electricians ran a thick cable through the wall to power the new outlet.
Each cable in the data center is labeled at both ends.
Similarwire, lead, cord
2
pay TVnounabbreviationellipsis
Television, and often internet service, delivered to homes through a network of underground or overhead cables rather than broadcast through the air; also, the service or system that provides it.
Millions of households dropped cable in favor of streaming services.
The show first aired on cable before moving to a major network.
UsageUsually no article: a show airs on cable; people get or cancel cable.
3
strong ropenouncountable or uncountable
A thick, strong rope or chain, often made of smaller ropes or metal wires twisted together, used to support, pull, or hold things, such as a ship at anchor.
The elevator hangs from a steel cable rated for several tons.
Climbers clipped onto a cable bolted along the cliff face.
4
telegramnouncountable
A telegram, especially one sent overseas by submarine telegraph cable.
The correspondent's cable reached the newsroom just before deadline.
A coded cable from the embassy warned of the coming crisis.
Similarcablegram, telegram
Note
The message took its name from the undersea wire that carried it, and the longer synonym cablegram makes that link explicit. In this sense a cable is always the text that arrives, never the line beneath the ocean. The act of sending one became a verb, as in cabling the news abroad.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The message sense derives from transmission through submarine telegraph cable. en.wikipedia.org
Cablegram explicitly combines cable with the message-forming element -gram. en.wiktionary.org
Cable is also a verb meaning to send news or a message by cable. en.wiktionary.org
5
knitting patternnouncountable
A textured pattern produced by passing groups of stitches over one another, giving a rope-like twist.
The knitter worked a bold cable across the front of the cardigan.
Traditional fishermen's sweaters feature intricate cables and diamond motifs.
Note
Knitters borrowed the rope image too. Groups of stitches pass over one another, so the fabric rises into a twisting column. The work itself has its own verb, to cable.

Less common meanings

6
wire upverbtransitive
To equip something with the cables needed to carry power or signals.
Technicians cabled the stadium for high-speed internet before the opening match.
The company plans to cable every apartment in the complex.
Similarwire
7
tie downverbtransitive
To fasten or secure something with cables, or as though with cables.
Riggers cabled the antenna to the rooftop against high winds.
Arborists often cable a split trunk so the two halves cannot pull apart in a storm.
Similarlash, tie, tether, secure, fasten
8
send telegramverbtransitive or intransitive
To send a message, news, or a report to someone by telegraph cable.
The correspondent cabled a detailed report to the newsroom the moment the verdict came in.
Editors instructed staff to cable any major developments immediately.
UsageCable a report to someone, or cable someone the news; also with no object: cable home for money.
Note
The message can be the object, often in the passive: George Johnston's Skyscrapers in the Mist (1946) has details that "were cabled all over the world". Or the recipient can be the object, with the words following: in John Casson's Lewis & Sybil (1972), "Anthony cabled them" the news of a birth.
9
cross stitchesverbintransitive
To knit a cable pattern by crossing groups of stitches over one another.
Experienced knitters can cable without a separate holding needle.
Once you learn to cable, an Aran sweater is far less daunting than it looks.
Note
Knitters use the verb without an object: you simply cable, just as you would twist or bobble. Leisure Arts' I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Cables strings it into a run of technique verbs, "cabling, twisting, popcorning and bobbling", and then reassures the knitter that none of them is hard.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
I Can't Believe I'm Knitting Cables is credited to Leisure Arts. simonandschuster.com
The book lists the quoted technique verbs and immediately reassures readers that the techniques were not difficult. en.wiktionary.org
10
twist wiresverbtransitive
To wrap two or more wires together so they form a single cable.
Manufacturers cable fine copper strands together to make power cords that bend without breaking.
Engineers cable the fibers together before adding the outer jacket.
Similartwist, bundle, twine
11
sea distancenouncountable
A unit of distance used at sea, about one tenth of a nautical mile (about 185 meters), traditionally counted as 100 fathoms, or 120 fathoms in older US use.
The lighthouse stood roughly two cables from the rocks.
He estimated the gap at half a cable and adjusted course.
Note
Sailors reckon short distances in these: two cables off the point, half a cable astern. Ten of them make a nautical mile, which keeps the arithmetic easy on a chart. Cable length is the unambiguous synonym, and the safer choice in writing that also talks about anchors and moorings, where cable alone may be read as the mooring rope or chain.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Ten cables equal one nautical mile under the international definition. en.wikipedia.org
12
carved ropenouncountable
A molding, column shaft, or similar rounded, convex element carved to resemble the spiral twist of a rope.
The Norman church's arch was edged with a bold cable.
Restorers recarved the worn stone cable that spirals around each of the cathedral's columns.
Note
The rope survives here as an image in stone. A convex, rounded member is worked into a spiral twist, whether it is a molding, the edge of an arch, or a whole column shaft. The same twisted-rope look gives knitting its stitch pattern, and the carving itself has a verb: masons speak of cabling a column.
Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Architectural cables are convex, rounded members shaped to resemble twisted rope, including moldings and column shafts. en.wiktionary.org
Cable molding can decorate an arch. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk
Knitted cables can resemble twisted rope. en.wikipedia.org
Cable is also an architectural verb meaning to decorate with cabling. en.wiktionary.org
13
carved ropeverbtransitive
To ornament something, such as a molding or column, with a carved spiral resembling twisted rope.
Romanesque builders liked to cable the shafts of doorway columns, carving them into a spiral like twisted rope.
The pilasters are richly cabled, their carving echoing the rope motif of the nave.
14
noun
The foreign-exchange name for the British pound quoted against the United States dollar.

Practice

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Origin

Latin "capio" (to take, seize) led to Late Latin "capulum" (lasso, rope, halter) and then to Old Northern French "cable," which shows up in Middle English as "cable" from about 1205. Since the mid-19th century the word has also named the GBP/USD exchange rate, because that rate was sent across the Atlantic by submarine cable.