news

newsnoun

American /nuz/ British /njuːz/

no plural

very commondefining vocabulary

News is information about what has just happened, and the reports that bring it.

recent eventsinformation about something that has happened recently
uncountable [U]
- Have you heard the news? Ana got the job!
- I have some good news and some bad news.
- The news of the accident spread quickly.
- That's the best news I've had all week.
Collocations
adjective + noun good news, bad news, great news, sad news, welcome news, exciting news
verb + noun hear the news, get the news, break the news, spread the news, share the news
noun + preposition news of, news about, news from
noun + verb news spreads, news travels fast
phrase a piece of news, a bit of news, an item of news
Compare information (information is facts of any kind; news is facts about what has just happened)
media reportsreports of recent events on television, on the radio, on the internet, or in newspapers
uncountable [U] often before another noun [before noun]
- The news is on at nine. (singular verb)
- I read the news on my phone every morning.
- She was on the news last night. (on the news: shown in a news program)
- Did you see the news about the flood?
Collocations
verb + noun watch the news, listen to the news, read the news, follow the news, make the news
noun + noun news report, news story, news channel, news website, news program
adjective + noun national news, local news, breaking news, fake news
preposition + noun on the news, in the news

Phrases

break the news

tell someone about something important that has happened, usually something bad

Someone will have to break the news to Lee.
The doctor broke the news as gently as she could.

no news is good news

if you have not heard anything, probably nothing bad has happened

A saying, used to comfort someone who is waiting to hear.

I haven't heard from the hospital yet, but no news is good news.

that's news to me informal

I did not know that, and I am surprised or annoyed to hear it

Said when someone tells you something you feel you should have been told earlier.

The meeting was moved to Friday? That's news to me!

be bad news informal disapproving

be a person or thing that is likely to cause trouble or harm

Stay away from him; he's bad news.
Late frost is bad news for fruit farmers.

Word family

newspaper
newsletter
newsworthy

Usage

News looks like a plural but is uncountable and takes a singular verb: the news is good, this news. To speak of one item, say a piece of news, a bit of news, or a news item, never a news. New, without the s, is only an adjective.

Common mistakes

I have a good news for you. I have some good news for you.
News is uncountable and never takes a or an; for one item say a piece of news.

The news are bad. The news is bad.
News ends in s but is singular and takes a singular verb.

For translators

Meaning across languages One English word covers both fresh information you hear from a friend and the news reports of the media; many languages use one word for the first and a different word, often a plural, for the second. Both senses are singular in English.

Grammar trap Uncountable and singular though it ends in s: the news is on, this news. Never a news or the news are. For one item say a piece of news. Many languages have a plural word for this idea, which is the usual source of the error.

Cultural background In English-speaking countries the news on television and radio is a fixed program at set hours, so people say the six o'clock news. Breaking news means news of something happening right now; fake news means false reports presented as news.

Pronunciation trap One syllable. In American English the vowel is the oo of food with no y sound before it: nooz. In British English a y sound comes first: nyooz. The final s is a z sound, and the s ending does not make the word plural.