correspondent

American  

[kawr-uh-spon-duhnt, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈspɒn dənt, ˌkɒr- /

noun

1. a person who communicates by letters.

2. a person employed by a news agency, periodical, television network, etc., to gather, report, or contribute news, articles, and the like regularly from a distant place.

3. a person who contributes a letter or letters to a newspaper, magazine, etc.

4. a person or firm that has regular business relations with another, especially at a distance.

5. a thing that corresponds to something else.

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adjective

1. consistent, similar, or analogous; corresponding.

correspondent British  

/ ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndənt /

noun

1. a person who communicates by letter or by letters

2. a person employed by a newspaper, etc, to report on a special subject or to send reports from a foreign country

3. a person or firm that has regular business relations with another, esp one in a different part of the country or abroad

4. something that corresponds to another

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adjective

1. similar or analogous

Other Word Forms

• correspondently
  adverb
• noncorrespondent
  adjective
• precorrespondent
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of correspondent

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin corrēspondent- (stem of corrēspondēns ), present participle of corrēspondēre to correspond; see -ent

Explanation

A correspondent is a reporter who writes or records stories on one topic or from one region. If you're hired as a radio station's financial correspondent, you'll need to do a lot of research on the economy. A journalist might work as a TV station's Middle East correspondent or a newspaper's education correspondent. You can also call yourself a correspondent if you're a regular letter or email writer, corresponding, or communicating, with someone. As an adjective, though, correspondent means "matching or agreeing." The word is rooted in the Medieval Latin correspondere, "to answer together."

Example Sentences

The Manhattan apartment of CBS News special correspondent Anthony Mason could serve as an annex to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Applause rang out at the Guiana Space Centre after all 32 satellites were successfully deployed, an AFP correspondent reported.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Anastasia Troyanova, a local correspondent for environmental news outlet Kedr, described "a huge cloud of black smoke over the town; it smells of burning".

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

After the shots were heard, the network’s head of security climbed over chairs to get to CEO Mark Thompson and chief White House correspondent and anchor Kaitlan Collins.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Anthony DePalma, a veteran foreign and domestic correspondent, spotted an important twist in the destiny of immigrants, who loom so large in the great American myth.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• contributor
• journalist
• reporter
• writer