correspondent

American  

[kawr-uh-spon-duhnt, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈspɒn dənt, ˌkɒr- /

noun

correspondents plural

1. a person who communicates by letters.

2. a person employed by a news agency, periodical, television network, etc., to gather, report, or contribute news, articles, and the like regularly from a distant place.

3. a person who contributes a letter or letters to a newspaper, magazine, etc.

4. a person or firm that has regular business relations with another, especially at a distance.

5. a thing that corresponds to something else.

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adjective

1. consistent, similar, or analogous; corresponding.

correspondent British  

/ ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndənt /

noun

1. a person who communicates by letter or by letters

2. a person employed by a newspaper, etc, to report on a special subject or to send reports from a foreign country

3. a person or firm that has regular business relations with another, esp one in a different part of the country or abroad

4. something that corresponds to another

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adjective

1. similar or analogous

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noncorrespondent
  adjective
• precorrespondent
  adjective
• correspondently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• correspondents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of correspondent

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin corrēspondent- (stem of corrēspondēns ), present participle of corrēspondēre to correspond; see -ent

Explanation

A correspondent is a reporter who writes or records stories on one topic or from one region. If you're hired as a radio station's financial correspondent, you'll need to do a lot of research on the economy. A journalist might work as a TV station's Middle East correspondent or a newspaper's education correspondent. You can also call yourself a correspondent if you're a regular letter or email writer, corresponding, or communicating, with someone. As an adjective, though, correspondent means "matching or agreeing." The word is rooted in the Medieval Latin correspondere, "to answer together."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

correspondent correspondents

Helena Smith, The Guardian's correspondent in Athens, told BBC Radio Scotland that the body was found in a derelict building in downtown Athens, "in an area that is booming, full of Airbnbs".

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Guest: Josh Keating, senior correspondent covering foreign affairs at Vox.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

BBC Sport F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions after the race at the Hungaroring.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Daily Express political correspondent Aaron Newbury said the technician appears to have taken the attention in stride.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Our correspondent naïvely says that even Ellen Terry could not be so winningly attractive as some of these grubby-faced little children pretend—and even imagine themselves—to be.

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

Scott Pelley, one of the show’s longest-serving correspondents, departed after pushing back against the firings, criticizing Weiss and questioning Bilton’s qualifications during a staff meeting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

She has overseen a series of controversial moves, including shaking up the evening news and sacking several “60 Minutes” correspondents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

He was also one of the first correspondents to reach New York after the 9/11 terror attacks.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

My humble thanks go out to all these correspondents, commenters and readers, and my condolences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

Some of the correspondents asked whether he was going to defend his United States Championship title in the Rosenwald tournament.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• contributor
• journalist
• reporter
• writer