media
noun
a plural of medium.
Showing results for "media"
- plural of medium.
media
1 American
[mee-dee-uh]
/ ˈmi di ə /
noun
-
a plural of medium.
-
(usually used with a plural verb) the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, that reach or influence people widely.
The media are covering the speech tonight.
adjective
media
2
American
[mee-dee-uh]
/ ˈmi di ə /
noun
-
mediae
plural
-
Greek Grammar. a voiced plosive, as β, δ, γ.
-
Anatomy. the middle layer of an artery or lymphatic vessel.
-
Entomology. a longitudinal vein in the middle portion of the wing of an insect.
Media
3
American
[mee-dee-uh]
/ ˈmi di ə /
noun
media
1
British
/ ˈmɛdɪə /
noun
-
the middle layer of the wall of a blood or lymph vessel
-
one of the main veins in the wing of an insect
-
phonetics
-
a consonant whose articulation lies midway between that of a voiced and breathed speech sound
-
a consonant pronounced with weak voice, as c in French second
-
media
2
British
/ ˈmiːdɪə /
noun
-
a plural of medium
-
the means of communication that reach large numbers of people, such as television, newspapers, and radio
adjective
Media
3
British
/ ˈmiːdɪə /
noun
Usage
Media, like data, is the plural form of a word borrowed directly from Latin. The singular, medium, early developed the meaning “an intervening agency, means, or instrument” and was first applied to newspapers two centuries ago. In the 1920s media began to appear as a singular collective noun, sometimes with the plural medias. This singular use is now common in the fields of mass communication and advertising, but it is not frequently found outside them: The media is (or are ) not antibusiness.
When media refers to the mass media, it is sometimes treated as a singular form, as in: the media has shown great interest in these events. Many people think this use is incorrect and that media should always be treated as a plural form: the media have shown great interest in these events
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of media1
First recorded in 1920–25
Origin of media2
First recorded in 1835–45; from Late Latin (grammar sense only), noun use of feminine singular of Latin medius “middle”; cf. mid 1 ( def. )
Explanation
All the various communications you use to get your news — magazines, websites, radio, and TV, among others — are collectively known as media. Many public figures thrive on media attention. This word is frequently used as a mass noun: "I wish the media would focus more on local news than on celebrity gossip!" You can use it for the system of news organizations that put important stories in front of the public, as well as for the journalists themselves. Philosopher and theorist Marshall McLuhan is credited with the first use of this word to mean "communication channels," in 1954.
Vocabulary lists containing media
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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.
See Examples For:
Named Wilbur by the hive mind of social media, the animal blew up online after resident Jamaal Harrison posted a video to TikTok on Saturday showing his futile attempts to catch it on an e-bike.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Where the company was once the best-known name in media rip-offs, it now leaves behind only mass-produced plastic and fuzzy memories.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
In response, Saar said on social media that he rejected "outright" Miliband's statement.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Kristersson was due to hold a speech in Stockholm in the evening but told media he was cancelling it to focus on the incident.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
“And the staff and the tax audit and the media attention and the people who wanted Joey to throw the fight, too.”
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
Media outlets in Australia widely reported the initial incorrect reports that Hooper was located alive before retracting their stories shortly after.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Media law expert Mark Stephens told AFP it was "perfectly legitimate" for the media to investigate the allegations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
“The standards around it don’t exist right now,” said Amanda Annis, an agent at Trident Media Group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
“For these companies, this is a real point of reckoning,” attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett of the Social Media Victims Law Center said during a press briefing Friday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Now, it’s the open doorway to that classroom, where she can see The Taker in front of her in Mixed Media.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
It agrees with Breton on the following points:—It has given up the nasal mutation of initials but provects the mediae.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various
It is not until much later times that the h in the mutated forms of the tenues, or the use of the dot, was extended to the mediae.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various
Those called mediae by the writers on Greek grammar, viz., b, d, g, approach nearer in force to the corresponding tenues p, t, c, than they do in English.
From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Alexander Stewart
A further peculiarity of Scottish Gaelic is that it substitutes lenes or voiceless mediae for the voiced stops, and even l, r, n sounds show a great tendency to give up the voice.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various
As a rule the medial mutation of the tenues and mediae is not denoted in O. Welsh.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various
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.
