Meaning & use
headline
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The title printed in large letters at the top of a newspaper article or news story.
Grammar: Countable: 'a headline', 'the headlines'.
Patterns
- a headline about something
- make headlines
- grab the headlines
The headline read 'City Council Votes for New Park'.
She only reads the headlines, not the full articles.
verbtransitive
To be the main performer or the most important feature of an event or show.
Grammar: Takes an object: 'The band headlined the festival.'
Patterns
- headline an event
- headline a show
The famous singer will headline the music festival this year.
The comedian headlined the charity gala.
Word forms
| plural | headlines |
|---|---|
| third person singular | headlines |
| past tense | headlined |
| past participle | headlined |
| -ing form | headlining |
Common combinations
- make headlines
- The scandal made headlines around the world.
- front-page headline
- The election result was a front-page headline.
- headline news
- The story was headline news for weeks.
- grab the headlines
- The protest grabbed the headlines.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- headliner noun
- The main performer at an event.
Commonly confused: headline or heading?
headline vs heading
A heading is a title for a section of a document; a headline is the main title of a news article.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Headline' as a verb takes a direct object (the event), so 'headline the festival' is correct. Prepositions are not used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “headline”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.