feature story
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
It’s among 14 features offered on the Criterion Channel’s current collection, “Directed by Howard Hawks.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 31, 2025
The Premium+ plan, priced at about $16 per month, includes all the tools and features offered by the platform, minus the ads, the company said in a post on the platform.
From Reuters • Oct. 27, 2023
With apps constantly adding features offered by other social media apps to keep users on their platforms for longer, is TikTok looking to follow Netflix and start making games itself?
From BBC • Oct. 14, 2023
This inventory has basic information, including the facilities’ hours of operation and features offered such as menstrual products and baby changing stations.
From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2023
Having taken the vow of silence, Miriam Nesbit's tranquilly-composed features offered no sign of the significant knowledge that lay behind them.
From Grace Harlowe's Golden Summer by Flower, Jessie Graham [pseud.]
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.
