Meaning & use
chyron
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Meaning
nouncountableAmericaninformal
The line of text shown across the lower part of a television picture to name a speaker, a place or a news headline.
Grammar: Often used in TV news: the chyron said breaking news. The British equivalent is caption or strap.
Patterns
- the chyron says something
- a chyron reading something
The chyron identified the woman on screen as the city's mayor.
A red chyron reading breaking news flashed across the bottom of the screen.
Viewers noticed a spelling mistake in the chyron during the evening broadcast.
Word forms
| plural | chyrons |
|---|
Common combinations
- a news chyron
- A news chyron announced that the vote would be delayed.
- scrolling chyron
- A scrolling chyron listed the weather warnings along the bottom of the screen.
- the chyron reads
- The chyron reads Live from the stadium.
- a chyron error
- A chyron error put the wrong name under the guest.
- add a chyron
- Editors add a chyron when a new speaker appears.
Synonyms and how they differ
- caption
- Caption is the general term for text accompanying a picture and is the usual word in British television.
- lower third
- Lower third is the professional name for a graphic placed in the bottom third of the screen, and chyron is its popular nickname.
- ticker
- Ticker is a moving line of headlines or numbers, while a chyron may stay still.
- strap
- Strap is the British word for a headline banner on the screen.
Word family
- Chyron proper noun
- the company that first made the equipment, from which the word comes
- lower third noun
- the professional term for the same kind of graphic
Commonly confused: chyron or ticker?
chyron vs ticker
A ticker is a line of text that keeps moving, while a chyron is the graphic that names or explains what you see.
Practice
A viewer wants to know who a guest is on a news broadcast. Where would the name usually be shown?
Choose one answer.
A chyron is the on-screen text that identifies speakers and topics. Credits come at the end and do not identify speakers while they talk.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chyron”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.