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

Derived 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

Pelley became a correspondent for “60 Minutes II,” a midweek edition of the program that ran from 1999 to 2005.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

There are also interviews with an aid worker and former BBC correspondent Martin Bell, who both voice criticism about the international response to the crisis.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

Cecilia Vega, the show’s first Latina correspondent, was also fired as part of the recent purge, even though her contract reportedly ran through March 2027.

From Salon • Jun. 1, 2026

David Wessel was a contributing correspondent to The Wall Street Journal and is director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

Lawley, the correspondent, seemed ill again and had not made up his mind whether or not to ride today.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• contributor
• journalist
• reporter
• writer