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 measures range from beefing up record-keeping to prohibiting correspondent banking relationships.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

An AFP correspondent saw Ben Gvir, flanked by bodyguards, marching with the crowds and posing for photos.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

A deal could be done, according to BBC North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher, with China offering rare earths in return for high-end computer chips for programming the brains of its new robots.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

In his conversation with CBS correspondent Tracy Smith, Short reflected on how his experiences with grief early in life informed his stage presence and confidence.

From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026

A New York Times correspondent in a London press conference quoted the author and dramatist James Baldwin, who thought the death of Malcolm X was “a major setback for the Negro movement.”

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• contributor
• journalist
• reporter
• writer