news
news — noun
1. Facts and details about things that have recently happened or are happening now,
Facts and details about things that have recently happened or are happening now, which people learn from newspapers, television, websites, or conversation.
Sumin checks the news on her phone every morning before getting out of bed.
collocation: check the news
The news about the election results spread quickly through the small town.
uncountable noun with singular verb 'spread'
Hamza's grandmother cried tears of joy when she heard the good news.
collocation: good news / bad news
Felipe asked the librarian whether there was any news about the author's next book.
- hear the news
- get news
- receive news
- news about
- news of
- good news
- bad news
- breaking news
- latest news
- news report
- information
broader; does not specifically refer to recent events
- report
more formal; often a written or broadcast account of a specific event
- update
focuses on the latest developments about a known situation
Grammar Patterns
the news + singular verb
news about/of + noun phrase
Usage Note
Cannot be used with 'a' or 'one' — do not say 'a news'. Use 'a piece of news' or 'some news' for individual items.
Common Mistakes
2. A scheduled broadcast on television or radio that presents the most important re
A scheduled broadcast on television or radio that presents the most important recent events, typically aired at a fixed time each day.
Mateo watches the evening news every night after dinner to stay informed.
collocation: watch the news
The local news reported that the main road would be closed for repair work.
collocation: local news / national news
Ayesha turned on the radio to catch the ten o'clock news while driving home.
Élise appeared on the news last night to talk about her work with homeless animals.
collocation: on the news
- watch the news
- listen to the news
- the evening news
- the morning news
- the local news
- the national news
- the nightly news
- on the news
Grammar Patterns
the news + singular verb
on the news
in the news
Usage Note
When referring to the broadcast programme, 'the news' is almost always used with the definite article. 'News' without 'the' refers to information in general (sense 1).
Common Mistakes
3. To be the person who tells someone about a recent bad event, especially one that
To be the person who tells someone about a recent bad event, especially one that directly involves or affects them.
The doctor broke the news to the family that the tests had come back negative.
pattern: break the news to [someone] + that-clause
No one wanted to be the one who broke the bad news about the cancelled trip.
collocation: break the bad news
Caleb broke the news to his roommate that he was moving out at the end of the month.
pattern: break the news to [someone]
Eitan sat his children down gently before breaking the news about their dog being sick.
- break the news to
- break the bad news
- break the good news
- be the one to break the news
- keep secret
deliberately not telling someone about something
Grammar Patterns
break the news + to + someone
break the news + that-clause
Usage Note
The expression is most commonly used for bad or difficult news. 'Break' in this sense does not mean physically damage — it means 'reveal for the first time'.
Common Mistakes
4. A person, thing, or situation that will either cause problems or bring advantage
A person, thing, or situation that will either cause problems or bring advantages to someone or something else.
The heavy rain was bad news for the farmers whose wheat was ready for harvest.
pattern: bad news for [someone/something]
The scholarship fund was great news for Indra, who had been worried about tuition costs.
The new manager's cost-cutting plan was bad news for everyone in the marketing team.
pattern: bad/good news for
Dahlia considered the job transfer good news for her career but bad news for her marriage.
contrasting good and bad news in one sentence
- good news for
- bad news for
- great news for
- welcome news for
- bad news for business
Grammar Patterns
be good news for + noun phrase
be bad news for + noun phrase
Usage Note
This is a fixed expression, not a literal reference to news reporting. 'Good news for [X]' means something that helps X; 'bad news for [X]' means something that harms X.
Common Mistakes
5. To be considered interesting or important enough to be included in news reports
To be considered interesting or important enough to be included in news reports or to attract public attention.
The wedding of the two pop stars was big news across Asia for several weeks.
collocation: be big news
A small earthquake in the region was news for about a day before the world moved on.
Eshe's discovery was big news in the science community but unknown to the general public.
pattern: be big news in [domain]
The factory closure became national news after workers organised a large protest.
collocation: become national news
- be news
- be big news
- be front-page news
- become national news
- make news
- newsworthy
adjective form; describes something that is worth reporting as news
- headline-making
informal; suggests the story is dramatic enough to be a headline
- old news
something that is no longer interesting or relevant
Grammar Patterns
be news + in/within + noun phrase
Usage Note
Often used with modifiers like 'big', 'front-page', 'international', or 'national' to emphasise the scale of public interest.
Common Mistakes
6. Facts or details that someone has not heard before, often causing surprise becau
Facts or details that someone has not heard before, often causing surprise because the person expected to already know them.
If the exam date changed, that is news to me — nobody told me anything.
pattern: be news to [someone]
Eli claimed he had finished the report, but that was news to his manager.
The fact that the restaurant had closed two months ago was news to Hana when she arrived.
Christopher told everyone about the new policy, but it was news to the team members.
- be news to
- be news to me
- that's news to me
- news to everyone
- surprise
noun form; emphasises the unexpected nature of the information
- revelation
more dramatic; suggests something important was suddenly learned
- old news
something already known and no longer interesting
Grammar Patterns
be news to + someone
Usage Note
Almost always appears in the fixed expression 'be news to [someone]'. The phrase implies mild surprise — the person thought they knew but did not.
Common Mistakes
7. How interesting, unusual, or important a story must be for editors and journalis
How interesting, unusual, or important a story must be for editors and journalists to decide to include it in their reporting.
The editor questioned the news value of the story since similar events happened every month.
collocation: news value
In the age of social media, the news worthiness of a story often depends on public sharing.
The young journalist argued that the charity fundraiser had genuine news value for the local paper.
A story loses its news value once every major outlet has already covered it from every angle.
collocation: lose its news value
- news value
- news worthiness
- have news value
- lack news value
- lose its news value
- newsworthiness
the full noun form; 'news value' is a more compact alternative
- public interest
broader; refers to what the public finds important, not just what is reported
Grammar Patterns
news value
news worth + noun phrase
Usage Note
Primarily used in professional journalism contexts. 'News value' is a fixed collocation that editors use when deciding which stories to pursue.
no news is good news
idiomSaid when someone has not received any information about a situation but believes that not hearing anything means nothing bad has happened.
Eliska had not heard from her son all week, but she told herself that no news is good news.
After applying for the job, Caleb waited anxiously, repeating that no news is good news.
that's news to me
idiomUsed to express surprise when hearing information that one was not aware of, especially when one feels they should have known.
When Sumin heard the meeting was cancelled, she simply said, 'That's news to me.'
The director claimed the budget had been approved, but that was news to the finance team.
It means something will likely cause trouble or problems.
The new factory is bad news for the local environment.
Is the storm bad news for our weekend trip?
It means something will likely be helpful or bring an advantage.
The scholarship is good news for Maya's family.
Good news for commuters: the train strike is over.
It means to be the first person to tell someone some bad news.
Sara had to break the news to her roommate.
Who will break the news to the team about the layoffs?
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
'News' specifically refers to information about recent events — it is time-sensitive and implies freshness. 'Information' is much broader and can describe facts of any age or type; a phone number is information but not news. 'Report' is more formal and suggests a structured account, often written or broadcast, of a particular event or situation. 'Update' focuses on the latest developments about something already known; you get an update on a project, but news about an earthquake is new to everyone. In everyday use: 'Did you hear the news about the election?' (a single significant event) vs. 'Can you give me an update on the project?' (progress on an ongoing matter).
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'news' comes from the plural of 'new', modelled on the French word 'nouvelles' (new things). It entered English around the 14th century as 'newes', originally meaning 'new things' or 'recent events'. The spelling 'news' became standard by the 16th century, and it was treated as a singular uncountable noun from that time — it was never truly plural in modern English despite its -s ending. The abbreviation 'no news is good news' dates back to the early 17th century.