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Which of these is a report?

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report

American  

[ri-pawrt, -pohrt] / rɪˈpɔrt, -ˈpoʊrt /

noun

• reports
  plural

1. 

   an account or statement describing in detail an event, situation, or the like, usually as the result of observation, inquiry, etc..

   a report on the peace conference;

   a medical report on the patient.

   Synonyms:

   story, description

2. a statement or announcement.

   Synonyms:

   dispatch, bulletin

3. a widely circulated statement or item of news; rumor; gossip.

4. an account of a speech, debate, meeting, etc., especially as taken down for publication.

5. a loud noise, as from an explosion.

   the report of a distant cannon.

   Synonyms:

   detonation, shot

6. a statement of a student's grades, level of achievement, or academic standing for or during a prescribed period of time.

7. Computers. output, especially printed, containing organized information.

8. a statement of a judicial opinion or decision, or of a case argued and determined in a court of justice.

9. Law. reports, a collection of adjudications.

10. repute; reputation; fame.

    a man of bad report.

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verb (used with object)

• reports,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reported,
  past participle,  past
• reporting
  present participle

1. to carry and repeat, as an answer or message; repeat, as what one has heard.

   Synonyms:

   relay

2. to relate, as what has been learned by observation or investigation.

   Synonyms:

   relay

3. to give or render a formal account or statement of.

   to report a deficit.

4. to send back (a bill, amendment, etc.) to a legislative body with a formal report outlining findings and recommendations (often followed byout ).

   The committee reported out the bill.

5. to make a charge against (a person), as to a superior.

   I intend to report him to the dean for cheating.

   Synonyms:

   accuse

6. to make known the presence, condition, or whereabouts of.

   to report a ship missing.

7. to present (oneself ) to a person in authority, as in accordance with requirements.

8. to take down (a speech, lecture, etc.) in writing.

9. to write an account of (an event, situation, etc.), as for publication in a newspaper.

10. to relate or tell.

    Synonyms:

    repeat, detail, describe, recount, rehearse, narrate

verb (used without object)

• reports,
  present (3rd person singular)
• reported,
  past participle,  past
• reporting
  present participle

1. to prepare, make, or submit a report of something observed, investigated, or the like.

2. to serve or work as a reporter, as for a newspaper.

3. to make one's condition or whereabouts known, as to a person in authority.

   to report sick.

4. to present oneself duly, as at a place.

   to report to Room 101.

idioms

1. on report, (of personnel) under restriction pending disciplinary action.

report British  

/ rɪˈpɔːt /

noun

1. an account prepared for the benefit of others, esp one that provides information obtained through investigation and published in a newspaper or broadcast

2. a statement made widely known; rumour

   according to report, he is not dead

3. an account of the deliberations of a committee, body, etc

   a report of parliamentary proceedings

4. a statement on the progress, academic achievement, etc, of each child in a school, written by teachers and sent to the parents or guardian annually or each term

5. a written account of a case decided at law, giving the main points of the argument on each side, the court's findings, and the decision reached

6. comment on a person's character or actions; reputation

   he is of good report here

7. a sharp loud noise, esp one made by a gun

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verb

1. to give an account (of); describe

2. to give an account of the results of an investigation (into)

   to report on housing conditions

3. (of a committee, legislative body, etc) to make a formal report on (a bill)

4. (tr) to complain about (a person), esp to a superior

   I'll report you to the teacher

5. (tr) to reveal information about (a fugitive, escaped prisoner, etc) esp concerning his whereabouts

6. (intr) to present oneself or be present at an appointed place or for a specific purpose

   report to the manager's office

7. (intr) to say or show that one is (in a certain state)

   to report fit

8. to be responsible to and under the authority of

   the plant manager reports to the production controller

9. (intr) to act as a reporter for a newspaper or for radio or television

10. law to take down in writing details of (the proceedings of a court of law) as a record or for publication

Usage

What is a basic definition of report? A report is a detailed account of something based on observation and research. Report is also used to mean to relay information or to appear at a destination as ordered. The word report has many other senses as a noun and a verb. A report is a paper, article, announcement, or similar account that contains detailed information that someone has gathered through observation, study, or other research. Sometimes, another noun is used with report to specify what the report is about. For example, students often write book reports in school in which they analyze books they have read.

• Real-life examples: Businesses often create budget reports so they can figure out how much money they have to spend. Scientists compile scientific reports in which they present the results of experiments. Sports journalists often compile injury reports that list all of the players who will miss games due to injuries.
• Used in a sentence: I listened to the weather report on the news to see if I needed to bring an umbrella. 

As a verb, report means to repeat or relay information that a person has heard from another source or has gathered themselves. People who report things (such as at a news agency) are called reporters.

• Real-life examples: A journalist’s job is to report information to the public. A spy’s job is to gather secret information and report it to their boss. Scientists will report things they have learned to scientific journals or to the news media.
• Used in a sentence: The tabloid magazine reported sightings of Bigfoot in the woods. 

Report is also used to mean to go to a specific place because you were ordered to.

• Used in a sentence: General Harris ordered the recruits to report to basic training in the morning.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prereport
  noun
• subreport
  noun
• overreport
  verb
• nonreportable
  adjective
• nonreported
  adjective
• quasi-reported
  adjective
• reportable
  adjective
• unreportable
  adjective
• unreported
  adjective
• well-reported
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• reports
  plural

Participles

• reporting
  present
• reported
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• report
  simple
• reports
  simple
• have reported
  perfect
• has reported
  perfect
• am reporting
  progressive
• are reporting
  progressive
• is reporting
  progressive
• have been reporting
  perfect progressive
• has been reporting
  perfect progressive

Past

• reported
  simple
• had reported
  perfect
• was reporting
  progressive
• were reporting
  progressive
• had been reporting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will report
  simple
• will have reported
  perfect
• will be reporting
  progressive
• will have been reporting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of report

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb reporten, from Middle French reporter, Old French, from Latin reportāre “to carry back,” equivalent to re- re- + portāre “to carry” ( see port ⁵)

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Explanation

When you report something, you tell what happened. After giving the details of your groundbreaking news story, you might end by saying, “...reporting live from Washington, D.C.” In addition to the action of telling, what gets told is also called a report. Your report on annual snowfall in New Mexico was brief but informative. Report also applies to calling the police or other authorities. You might not like the way your neighbor trims his poodle, but that doesn't mean you should report him for animal abuse.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

report reports reported reporting

Shares of New York cosmetics firm The Estee Lauder Companies were off by 4.1% to $104.77 despite a report of fiscal first-quarter earnings and sales growth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

The stock jumped more than 13% in after-hours trading after the report.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

In May this year, the constitutional court ruled that parliament had acted unlawfully by shelving the panel's report, and in July Ramaphosa blocked the parliamentary inquiry through a provincial court.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

But a new scientific report suggests that this advice may be missing an equally important part of the equation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

Nils, one of our workers, had come to report old Katrien safely arrived at a farm north of Alkmaar.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

In his view, however, the earnings reports from major cloud-services providers support the idea that the AI trade has more room to run.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Anthropic's roughly 400-page filing devotes more than 90 pages to risks, including those facing an industry that has seen a string of reports in recent months of AI systems behaving in unexpected and harmful ways.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Marshall, meanwhile, has been under scrutiny ever since reports emerged that he sued patients unable to pay their medical bills.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

AI stocks will be back in focus when tech giant Apple reports earnings after the closing bell Monday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Rumors run rampant—there are false reports of parachute invasions, gas attacks, and spy infiltrations.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Alphabet reported growth in Google’s search-advertising business slowed, hurt by “AI-mode” queries, Amazon’s revenue missed analyst expectations and Intel forecast a prolonged slowdown in personal-computer sales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Idexx Laboratories reported strong growth in veterinary diagnostics, offsetting sluggish industry demand.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Fox News’ audience also declined during that quarter, and the company reported lower digital news advertising revenue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Meanwhile, Status reported that October 2026 is Fox News’ lowest-rated month since December 2023, with the network averaging 1.1 million total-day viewers.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

If we had stayed in Korla, the people would have reported all of us to the Capital King of Turfan.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

They also point out that any tax breaks are hard to trace because there are no public reporting requirements by the beneficiaries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

We have a lot of reporting determining the key races, but if you look down the ballot beyond the candidates, you have initiatives and other legislation driven by sentiment.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

A passenger texted the British Transport Police reporting a male behaving erratically the night before, Cambridge Crown Court heard.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

The boom has extended across the Irish border, with Kenny's Bookshop in Galway reporting a tenfold increase in sales of Rooney's novels following Faber's decision.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

I wandered into the den and turned on the television just to see if the networks were reporting anything about what was going on.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English

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Related Words

• address
• announcement
• article
• communique
• description
• detail
• dispatch
• information
• message
• news
• note
• opinion
• paper
• picture
• record
• release
• statement
• summary
• word

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