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.

---

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

---

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 White House Correspondents’ Association plans the event, said Fox News anchor and senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, the incoming president of the WHCA.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

Gary O'Donoghue, the BBC's Chief North America correspondent who was at the dinner, said while roads were closed around the Washington Hilton for hours, security at the venue itself "wasn't particularly heavy".

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

Guest: Sara Fisher, Axios’ media correspondent, and media analyst at CNN.

From Slate • Apr. 26, 2026

Alexandra Ingersoll, a correspondent for One America News, told AFP she was inside when the commotion began, and saw Secret Service spring into action to protect the president.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

The correspondent sounded very excited as he described the Norwegian destroyer sinking.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

Related Words

• contributor
• journalist
• reporter
• writer