Standard Lemma guide

telethon

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈtɛl.əˌθɒn/
  • CMU ARPABET: T EH1 L AH0 TH AA0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A televised fundraising event encouraging viewers to make donations via telephone.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A blend of telephone + marathon.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: téléthon — television event
  • Greek: τηλεμαραθώνιος (tilemarathónios) — television event
  • Spanish: teletón — television event