tabloid

American  

[tab-loid] / ˈtæb lɔɪd /

noun

1. a newspaper whose pages, usually five columns wide, are about one-half the size of a standard-sized newspaper page.

2. a newspaper this size concentrating on sensational and lurid news, usually heavily illustrated.

3. a short form or version; condensation; synopsis; summary.

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adjective

1. compressed or condensed in or as if in a tabloid.

   a tabloid article; a tabloid account of the adventure.

2. luridly or vulgarly sensational.

tabloid British  

/ ˈtæblɔɪd /

noun

1. a newspaper with pages about 30 cm (12 inches) by 40 cm (16 inches), usually characterized by an emphasis on photographs and a concise and often sensational style Compare broadsheet

2. (modifier) designed to appeal to a mass audience or readership; sensationalist

   the tabloid press

   tabloid television

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Other Word Forms

• tabloidism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of tabloid

First recorded in 1905–10; tabl(et) + -oid

Explanation

A tabloid is a newspaper, especially one that's smaller than a traditional daily paper and focuses on sensational news items. If you're lucky, you might read some juicy tabloid headlines when you pass the corner newsstand. A tabloid is more likely to print celebrity gossip or crime stories with large photographs than news about international issues or the economy, especially on the front page. Tabloids aren't taken entirely seriously as journalism, although they are very popular and tend to sell well. The word tabloid originally meant "small tablet of medicine" in the 1880's. By 1900, it also meant "a compressed form of anything," including journalism.

Example Sentences

Tabloid tactics can expose power, but they can also be co-opted by it.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

Tabloid headlines about "RAF Rentner" or in English - the "Red Army Faction pensioners" - make the robberies between 1999 and 2016 sound like a TV sitcom about an elderly grandma on the run.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2024

Tabloid rumors about the co-stars’ romance first surfaced in December 2020, with alleged sources claiming the duo “fancied each other” and were “inseparable.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2023

Tabloid newspaper Bild reported that the tip about the alleged plot came from an allied intelligence agency.

From Washington Times • Jan. 8, 2023

On the forenoon of the 8th the weather was misty, so Squadron Commander Spenser Grey and Flight Lieutenant Marix spent the time in tuning up their Sopwith Tabloid machines.

From The War in the Air; Vol. 1 The Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force by Raleigh, Walter Alexander, Sir

Related Words

• paper