journalist
Americannoun
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a person who practices the occupation or profession of journalism.
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a person who keeps a journal, diary, or other record of daily events.
noun
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a person whose occupation is journalism
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a person who keeps a journal
Etymology
Origin of journalist
Explanation
A journalist is a person whose job involves writing nonfiction stories for newspapers, magazines, or online news sites. If you are reading or hearing a news story, you have a journalist to thank for providing that story. One type of journalist is a reporter, who researches topics and interviews people before writing a story or producing a piece for TV. Editors, photographers, and columnists can also be described as journalists, particularly if they work for a newspaper. Another kind of journalist is a person who regularly writes in a journal or diary. Journalist comes from the Old French jornel, "day" or "day's work," which became journal, "daily publication."
Vocabulary lists containing journalist
Journalism
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"Hip-Hop as Culture" and "I Am Somebody"
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 1–April 7, 2023
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Consumer journalist Rebecca Wilcox shares the latest news.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
If a journalist wants an on-the-record interview with someone in Objection’s orbit, they are asked to sign an agreement consenting in advance to the tribunal’s jurisdiction.
From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026
Archelle Georgiou is a physician, journalist and former healthcare executive.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026
A couple, out for a stroll, asked an AFP journalist to take a photo of them, a memento of a nice date back on their island home.
From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026
Decades later, when his confession could no longer hurt Booth, Thomas Jones did tell his story to a journalist who recorded it for history.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
