Count
Count verb - To find the sum of (a collection of things) by noting each one as it is being added.
Usage example: count the baseball gloves in the storage locker to see if there are enough to go around
Tell is a synonym for count in matter topic. In some cases you can use "Tell" instead a verb "Count", when it comes to topics like add, consequence, narrate, count up.
Tell
Tell verb - To find the sum of (a collection of things) by noting each one as it is being added.
Usage example: who can tell the number of grains of sand in the world?
Count is a synonym for tell in calculate topic. You can use "Count" instead a verb "Tell", if it concerns topics such as consequence, narrate, carry weight.
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Count my brothers and count my sisters, we'll tell your fortune and we'll tell you true/But the path's all covered in claws and feathers, Magpie, there's too many of you...
Source: Magpies as Portents -
He would count beans as they fell into jars and tell his assistant how many to add or remove.
Source: Visual Pun -
If you're the only one suffering from a status effect, she'll either tell you to fix yourself or count the number of enemies, but not tell your team members to help you.
Source: Annoying Video Game Helper
Cite this Source
Tell and Count. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/count/tell
Count & Tell. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/count/tell>.
Tell or Count. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/count/tell.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "count" and "tell" have occurred on timeline