Meaning & use
tabloid newspaper
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small-format newspaper that usually focuses on celebrities, scandal, and shocking stories rather than serious news.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a tabloid newspaper' or 'two tabloid newspapers'.
Patterns
- a tabloid newspaper reports something
- read a tabloid newspaper
She buys a tabloid newspaper every morning at the station.
The story first appeared in a tabloid newspaper, not a serious broadsheet.
Tabloid newspapers often put a shocking headline on the front page.
nouncountabletechnical
The small page size itself, about half the size of a traditional large newspaper.
Grammar: Here it refers to the physical format, not the style of reporting.
Patterns
- in tabloid newspaper format
- a tabloid newspaper size
Many quality papers now print in a tabloid newspaper format.
The publisher switched to a tabloid newspaper size to save money.
Word forms
| plural | tabloid newspapers |
|---|
Common combinations
- tabloid newspaper headline
- The tabloid newspaper headline was huge and dramatic.
- a story in a tabloid newspaper
- I read the story in a tabloid newspaper.
- tabloid newspaper coverage
- Tabloid newspaper coverage of the event was intense.
- a daily tabloid newspaper
- The daily tabloid newspaper sells millions of copies.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tabloid
- A short form that usually means the same thing, but can also just mean the small page size.
- gossip sheet
- Informal and slightly disapproving; it stresses the focus on rumors rather than news.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: tabloid newspaper or broadsheet?
tabloid newspaper vs broadsheet
A broadsheet is a large-format newspaper that usually reports serious news; a tabloid is smaller and often more sensational.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'tabloid newspaper' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A tabloid newspaper is something you read, so 'published a shocking story' fits. The others use verbs like 'watched', 'wrote', or 'listened to', which do not go with a newspaper you read.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “tabloid newspaper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.