noun
-
a person who reports, esp one employed to gather news for a newspaper, news agency, or broadcasting organization
-
a person, esp a barrister, authorized to write official accounts of judicial proceedings
-
a person authorized to report the proceedings of a legislature
-
social welfare an official who arranges and conducts children's panel hearings and who may investigate cases and decide on the action to be taken
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of reporter
1350–1400; Middle English reportour < Anglo-French ( Old French reporteur ). See report, -er 1
Explanation
A reporter is a journalist who goes out and gets the scoop on the news and informs the rest of us. If there’s a news conference or a train crash, a reporter is probably there getting the lowdown. If you want to be a reporter one day, you might study journalism in college, learning to write accurate and informative stories. Many reporters research, write, and edit articles about politics or current events, but you could also be a pop culture reporter or a tech reporter. The newspaper sense of reporter dates from 1798 — earlier it simply meant "one who gives an account."
Vocabulary lists containing reporter
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -er, -or
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Journalism Jargon
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Seeking Freedom"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
“We picked a name. We paid 45 bucks,” a ProPublica reporter noted after we submitted the application.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Markets reporter Corrie Driebusch has been tracking the sudden shift in investor appetite and what it means for the IPO pipeline.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
In this video, aviation reporter Benjamin Katz analyzes the flight’s extreme descent rate, tracking data and rare security implications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Ukrainian 5 Kanal TV reporter Mariana Mykytenko described how one of the passengers on her metro train shouted the word "Shahed", referring to Russia's Iranian-designed drones, before the blast sent dust pouring into their carriage.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Wouldn’t melting snow extinguish the volcano?” the reporter asked.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Our group — two reporters, a photographer and a video journalist — went through security and, camera rolling, wound our way through the maze of the midcentury building.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
The palace spokesperson told reporters the king's visit, from October 27 to November 4, would not "shy away from the 'darkest days of our past' as His Majesty has described them".
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
“We need to do a better job of tracking the ball, judging the ball, fielding the ball when necessary, not fielding it in other situations,” Ventrone told reporters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Prosecutor Bryson McDonald told reporters outside court that the Crown offered no evidence in relation to the charge "based on the Crown's ongoing assessment that the prosecution standard has no longer been met".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Chase and his father always got a big kick out of watching television reporters during disasters.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
