feature story
Americannoun
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a newspaper or magazine article or report of a person, event, an aspect of a major event, or the like, often having a personal slant and written in an individual style.
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the main or most prominent story in a magazine.
Usage
What is a feature story? A feature story is a factual story that is not hard news but is instead a more personal report about a person, event, or aspect of a major event. Feature stories typically appear as articles in newspapers, magazines, and other publications, but they are also frequently featured in other media, such as TV, radio, and podcasts. Feature stories are distinguished from hard news stories, which are straightforward, factual accounts of important happenings or events—just the facts. Feature stories often involve elements of hard news, but they are intended to give readers more descriptions and details. Feature stories are often just called features. One common type of feature story is a human-interest story. Much less commonly, the term feature story refers to the main or featured article of a publication. Feature stories provide readers with information that they might not need to know but that they (hopefully) want to know. Perhaps the most common examples of feature stories are profiles of notable figures or average people, but there are many kinds.
Etymology
Origin of feature story
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2016, he and his colleagues won Association for Women in Communications' Clarion Award for their feature story titled, "Death on India's Highway 66."
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
Thrall initially wrote about the accident as a feature story for the New York Review of Books in 2021, but with a different goal.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 4, 2023
The mystery of what Parshley had witnessed launched her into a feature story about decoding animal communication.
From Scientific American • Sep. 19, 2023
We'll be back with sports and weather, and finish up the broadcast with a funny feature story about a guy with a beard made of honeybees.
From Salon • Mar. 2, 2023
The New Jersey Star-Ledger, the state newspaper, wrote a long feature story on me, as an Olympic hopeful.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
