news
A1Neutral to formal. Can be used in all registers, from everyday conversation to official journalism.
Definition
Meaning
New information about recent events or developments, especially as reported by media.
A broadcast or publication reporting recent events; tidings; a specific piece of new information; (as a concept) the business or genre of reporting current events.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Grammatically uncountable (e.g., 'the news is...'). Despite the '-s', it is singular. Often used with a possessive or determiner (e.g., 'my news', 'this news').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Usage patterns are very similar. Slight idiomatic preferences exist (e.g., 'newsagent' (UK) vs. 'newsstand' (US) for retail outlet). The phrase 'on the news' is more common in UK English, while 'in the news' is broadly used in both.
Connotations
None significant. Both strongly associate the word with media/journalism.
Frequency
Extremely high and identical frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
I have some news for you.Have you heard the news about...?That is wonderful news!The news came as a shock.It was in the news yesterday.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “no news is good news”
- “break the news (to someone)”
- “that's news to me”
- “be in the news”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Refers to market updates, company announcements, or financial reports.
Academic
Used in media studies or communication theory to discuss journalism as an institution.
Everyday
The most common usage: discussing current events, personal updates, or media consumption.
Technical
In computing/IT: 'news feed', 'news aggregator', referring to streams of updates.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- (Rare/Archaic) 'He newsed his findings to the committee.'
- Not in common use.
American English
- (Rare/Archaic) Not in common use.
adverb
British English
- (Not standard) No common adverbial form.
American English
- (Not standard) No common adverbial form.
adjective
British English
- She works in the news department at the BBC.
- He's a news presenter for ITV.
American English
- She works in the news division at CNN.
- He's a news anchor for NBC.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- I watch the news on TV every evening.
- Do you have any news from home?
- That is good news!
- The breaking news interrupted the scheduled programme.
- I heard a surprising piece of news this morning.
- Local news often covers community events.
- The news of the merger sent the company's shares soaring.
- Despite the alarming headlines, the underlying news was positive.
- He's always the first to break the news in our office.
- The 24-hour news cycle has transformed political discourse.
- She sifted through the sensationalist coverage to find the substantive news.
- The leaked document was major news for about a day before being supplanted by another scandal.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of the word 'new' with an 's' added. It's information that is NEW-S (new things). Remember it's singular: 'The news IS on', not 'are on'.
Conceptual Metaphor
NEWS IS A LIQUID/STREAM ('flow of news', 'flood of news', 'trickle of news'). NEWS IS FOOD ('digest the news', 'news feed').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- False friend: Russian 'новости' (novosti) is plural, but English 'news' is grammatically singular (e.g., 'The news is good').
- Avoid translating 'I have news' as 'У меня есть новости' in contexts where 'У меня новость' (a specific item) is more accurate.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a plural: 'The news are interesting.' (Correct: 'The news is interesting.')
- Omitting the determiner when needed: 'I heard news.' (Better: 'I heard some news' or 'I heard the news.')
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following sentences uses 'news' correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a singular, uncountable noun despite ending in '-s'. Always use a singular verb: 'The news is on.', 'This news changes everything.'
No. You must use a partitive expression like 'a piece of news', 'a bit of news', 'an item of news', or 'some news'.
'In the news' means being reported about or currently prominent in media coverage (e.g., 'That scandal has been in the news all week'). 'On the news' refers specifically to being featured in a news broadcast/programme (e.g., 'I saw it on the ten o'clock news').
In British English, it's /njuːz/ (nyooz). In American English, the /j/ sound is typically dropped, so it's /nuːz/ (nooz). Both are correct for their respective varieties.
Collections
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Media Analysis
B2 · 49 words · Critically analyzing media and information.
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