rumor
AmericanUsage
What does rumor mean? A rumor is a story or statement that is being passed around without confirmation that the information is true, as in I heard a rumor about a new superhero movie. Rumor can also mean general hearsay, as in You shouldn’t put much faith in rumor and speculation. As a verb, rumor means to spread or report rumors. When used this way, it is usually accompanied by the thing that is a rumor, as in It has been rumored that Disney is building a new amusement park outside the city. While rumor does mean the information hasn’t been checked, it is still possible for it to be true. For this reason, rumor may not always be able to be used as a synonym for words like lie, falsehood, nonsense, or fiction. In British English, rumor is often spelled as rumour. A person who loves spreading rumors is called a rumormonger. Example: My gossipy neighbor loves spreading ridiculous rumors all over town.
Other Word Forms
- unrumored adjective
Etymology
Origin of rumor
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English rumour, from Middle French, from Latin rūmor; akin to Sanskrit rāuti, rāvati “(he) cries”
Explanation
A rumor is a story which may not be true. Everyone may be talking about the rap superstar who stopped for ice cream in your town, but until there's proof that it really happened, the whole thing is just a rumor. Are rumors ever true? Of course — sometimes word gets out ahead of time, like when a student overhears teachers talking about the early dismissal before it is announced. When the school closes early, the rumor is confirmed. But many other rumors can never be confirmed, so they stay just that, rumors. True, false, semi-true: who knows? The Latin word rumorem, or noise, is the origin; noise is often all that a rumor is.
Vocabulary lists containing rumor
Bridge to Terabithia
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"So You're Going to Mars"
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Schooled
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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.
In a long-standing rumor, Sid and Marty were said to be fifth-generation puppeteers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
Like so many others here, he’d heard the rumor gripping the first major of the golf season.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The stock market, however, is forward-looking; buy the rumor and sell the news, as the saying goes.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
Though both have denied it, the rumor gained strength and credibility last year as Lewandowski was repeatedly photographed coming and going from Noem’s D.C. apartment.
From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026
The cap was gone and the man dropped to his elbows to smell the pipe but the odor of gas was only a rumor, faint and stale.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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.
