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telethon

telethon

27 3.0
A long TV or online show that asks people to give money to charity
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛlɪˌθɒn/
translation icon : teletón
  • The launch party on Thursday is an already sold-out telethon called 'The People's Bailout.'
  • telethon raises money
  • telethon to raise money
  • annual telethon

But my characters online, he's doing an app based telethon to crowdfund his treatment.

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Examples

  • The U-62 telethon is on the air!

  • According to OccupyWallSt.org, the telethon raised enough money to abolish $5 million worth of debt.

    Blog text (20)
  • And that is why we are having a telethon.

  • Could you come to our celebrity telethon this weekend?

  • The event is a new take on the classic telethon, intended to raise money for the Rolling Jubilee.

    Blog text (7)
  • One time, I got invited to a telethon for autism and I was like, awesome, I'll go, I'll work the phones.

  • People donated more than a quarter million dollars, aided by a telethon featuring left-leaning celebrities like Janeane Garofalo and Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo.

    Blog text (25)
  • The charity raised over $10 million during the live telethon last night, featuring popular music performances.

  • She participated in a 24-hour telethon to support cancer research, encouraging viewers to donate via phone calls.

  • During the annual charity telethon, celebrities come together to entertain and ask for donations to help those in need.

Synonyms

benefit
vstelethon
238 3.9

An event held to raise money for a charity, often a performance

is a televised long event combining entertainment and donation appeals rather than a single performance
fundraiser
vstelethon
96 2.7

An event to raise money for a group or cause

is a long broadcast that entertains and asks viewers to donate over many hours
charity event
vstelethon
25 2.1

An organized event, like a concert, to raise money or attention for people in need

is a long broadcasted occasion that asks viewers to donate over many hours
talkathon
vstelethon
  • US
1 7.6

An event where people talk for a long time to raise money or get attention

is a long broadcast with mixed entertainment and donation appeals rather than nonstop talking
fund-raising drive
vstelethon
1 3.3

A planned event to collect money for a cause

is a continuous broadcast appeal rather than a broad campaign across activities
fund-raising effort
vstelethon
3.2

An organized activity to collect money for a charity or cause

is a long broadcast appeal for donations rather than a single organized activity

How Big

telethon
27 3.0
charity event
25 2.1
fundraiser
96 2.7
bake sale
  • US
37 1.7

Surface Forms

telethon singular
telethons plural

Morphology

telethon = television + marathon (semi-transparent) = television + marathon

The word is a blend of 'television' and 'marathon', and the idea of a long broadcast event is fairly inferable, but the charity-specific sense is still somewhat specialized.

Etymology

The word telethon is a mix of television and marathon. The tele- part means 'far' and marathon means 'long race'. So a telethon is like a TV 'marathon', a very long show that raises money for charity.