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Synonyms

newsprint

American  
[nooz-print, nyooz-] / ˈnuzˌprɪnt, ˈnjuz- /

noun

  1. a low-grade, machine-finished paper made from wood pulp and a small percentage of sulfite pulp, used chiefly for newspapers.


newsprint British  
/ ˈnjuːzˌprɪnt /

noun

  1. an inexpensive wood-pulp paper used for newspapers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of newsprint

First recorded in 1895–1900; news + print

Explanation

Newsprint is the inexpensive paper that's used to print newspapers and ads. Magazines tend to be printed on glossy, high-quality paper, while newspapers are printed on the thin and messy newsprint. Because it's cheap, very strong, and makes a good background for the four-color printing that newspapers typically use, newsprint is the most popular kind of paper for this kind of printing. Newsprint was invented in the mid-1800s, from wood pulp. It comes on rolls that unspool into a printing press. Despite the decline in Western printed newspapers, demand for newsprint continues to grow in much of Asia, especially China.

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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:

As the machine printed their work on newsprint paper, five technicians in uniform quickly flipped through the pages to check the quality.

From Barron's Jun. 1, 2026

Gone are the days of flavoring your morning coffee with a bit of ink, accidentally dipping the corner of the newsprint into a mug while thumbing through the pages.

From Salon Sep. 5, 2025

However, that number dwindled with a decline in the demand for newsprint and the site was bought from UPM by family-owned Eren Holding in 2021.

From BBC Sep. 26, 2024

Melissa: Their business, founded in 1979, was built on selling newsprint, including to The Seattle Times.

From Seattle Times Apr. 19, 2024

Inside was a nest of straw and newsprint, and inside the nest was a bird—something, Abdulrahman thought, between a pigeon and a dove.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

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