Meaning & use
media
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Meanings
nounsingular
The organizations and channels, such as newspapers, television, radio and websites, that share news and information with the public.
Grammar: Takes a singular or plural verb: the media is or the media are covering it.
Patterns
- the media report something
- in the media
The media was waiting outside the courthouse when the verdict came.
She has avoided the media since the scandal began.
Coverage in the national media made the charity famous.
nounplural
The materials or methods used to communicate or express something, such as print, video, audio or digital formats.
Grammar: Plural of medium: one medium, several media.
Patterns
- in digital media
- across several media
The artist works in several media, including oil and clay.
Students may present their projects in any media they choose.
Recorded media such as CDs are less common than streaming.
nounpluralcomputing
Physical or digital material on which data is stored, such as discs, drives or cards.
Grammar: Often appears in compounds: storage media, removable media.
Backups should be kept on removable media.
The files were copied to several storage media for safety.
Old magnetic media can degrade after decades.
Word forms
| singular | medium |
|---|
Common combinations
- social media
- Social media spread the photo within minutes.
- mass media
- The mass media shaped public opinion during the campaign.
- media coverage
- The event received wide media coverage.
- media attention
- The family asked for privacy and no more media attention.
- media outlet
- Every major media outlet carried the story.
- mainstream media
- The story was ignored by the mainstream media at first.
Synonyms and how they differ
- press
- Press refers mainly to newspapers and journalists, while media also includes television, radio and online sources.
- journalism
- Journalism is the work of gathering and reporting news, whereas media names the channels that carry it.
- news outlets
- News outlets focuses on organizations that publish news, while media can include entertainment and advertising too.
Word family
- medium noun
- a single means of communication or material
- medial adjective
- situated in the middle
- multimedia adjective
- using several forms of media together
- intermediary noun
- a go-between
Commonly confused: media or medium? media or median?
media vs medium
Medium is the singular form, so say one medium but several media; people often write a media when they mean one channel.
media vs median
Median means the middle value in a set of numbers and has no connection to communication.
Practice
Which sentence uses the word in its plural sense, meaning several materials for expression?
Choose one answer.
Only the first sentence refers to materials as the plural of medium. The others use media as the news industry.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “media”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.