Meaning & use
headlines
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“headlines” is a form of “headline”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
The titles of news reports, printed in large letters, or the main news stories themselves.
Grammar: Usually plural when referring to the main news: 'the headlines'. The singular 'headline' refers to one title.
Patterns
- make the headlines
- hit the headlines
- the news headlines
The scandal made headlines around the world.
She read the headlines while waiting for the bus.
The story was in all the headlines this morning.
nouncountable
A single title of a news article, printed in large letters.
Grammar: Countable: 'a headline', 'two headlines'. This is the singular form.
Patterns
- a bold headline
- the front-page headline
The headline read 'Local Team Wins Championship'.
He only glanced at the headline and didn't read the article.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To be the main performer or attraction at a concert or event.
Grammar: Can be used with or without an object: 'The band headlined the festival' or 'The band headlined at the festival'.
Patterns
- headline a concert
- headline at a festival
The famous singer will headline the music festival this year.
They headlined at the jazz club last night.
Word forms
| singular | headline |
|---|---|
| third person singular | headlines |
| past tense | headlined |
| past participle | headlined |
| -ing form | headlining |
Common combinations
- make the headlines
- The celebrity's wedding made the headlines.
- hit the headlines
- The political scandal hit the headlines yesterday.
- read the headlines
- I only read the headlines, not the full articles.
- front-page headlines
- The newspaper's front-page headlines were about the election.
- headline a concert
- The rock band will headline a concert in the park.
Synonyms and how they differ
- titles
- Titles are general names for books, films, etc.; headlines specifically refer to news article titles.
- news
- News is the information about recent events; headlines are the titles or summaries of that news.
Word family
- headline noun
- The singular form, meaning one news title.
- headliner noun
- The main performer at a concert or event.
Commonly confused: headlines or heading?
headlines vs heading
A heading is a title at the top of a section in a document; a headline is specifically a news title.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'headlines' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Made the headlines' is a common phrase meaning became a major news story. 'Headlines of the book' is wrong because headlines are for news, not books. 'Headlines the newspaper' is wrong because as a verb it means to be the main performer, not to read. 'The headline are' is wrong because 'headline' is singular and takes 'is'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “headlines”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.