good news: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Very HighInformal to Neutral
Quick answer
What does “good news” mean?
Information that is positive, pleasing, or welcome.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Information that is positive, pleasing, or welcome.
Any positive development, outcome, or situation that brings relief or happiness; can be used ironically.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical or grammatical differences. The phrase is equally common and used identically.
Connotations
Identical positive connotations in both dialects.
Frequency
Extremely high frequency in both dialects with no notable variance.
Grammar
How to Use “good news” in a Sentence
Good news + (for + [Person/Group])Good news + (about + [Topic])Good news + (that + clause)Good news + (on + [Topic/Project])Verb (be/have/bring) + good newsVocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Often used in announcements about company performance, project completions, or positive market developments (e.g., 'The quarterly results are good news for our investors.').
Academic
Used to announce positive research findings or outcomes (e.g., 'The recent data provides good news for the hypothesis.').
Everyday
The most common context, used to share any positive personal or general information (e.g., 'I've got some good news—we're having a baby!').
Technical
Rare in highly technical contexts unless announcing a successful experiment or solution (e.g., 'The system diagnostics are good news; the failure was isolated.').
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “good news”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “good news”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “good news”
- Using it as a countable noun without a partitive (e.g., 'I heard a good news' is incorrect; use 'a piece of good news').
- Using the adjective 'well' instead of 'good' (e.g., 'well news' is incorrect).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is grammatically singular and uncountable. You treat it as a singular concept, e.g., 'The good news is...' However, you can count individual items using 'a piece of good news' or 'two bits of good news'.
No, this is incorrect. Because 'news' is uncountable, you must use a partitive phrase like 'a piece of good news', 'some good news', or 'an item of good news'.
Common enthusiastic responses include: 'That's great news!', 'Congratulations!', 'I'm so happy to hear that!', or simply 'Wow, that's fantastic!'
Yes. 'Glad tidings' is a much older, formal, and literary phrase, often associated with religious or ceremonial contexts (e.g., Christmas). 'Good news' is the standard, neutral phrase used in all modern contexts.
Information that is positive, pleasing, or welcome.
Good news is usually informal to neutral in register.
Good news: in British English it is pronounced /ˌɡʊd ˈnjuːz/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌɡʊd ˈnuːz/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “No news is good news.”
- “Break the good news.”
- “Bear good news.”
- “Good news travels fast.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a newspaper called 'The Good Times' where every headline is happy—that's 'good news'.
Conceptual Metaphor
GOOD NEWS IS A GIFT / GOOD NEWS IS A RELIEF FROM A BURDEN
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following sentences uses 'good news' incorrectly?