Meaning & use
vox pop
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Meaning
nouncountable or uncountableinformal
a short interview or set of interviews with ordinary people, used in news reports to show public opinion.
Grammar: Can be countable (a vox pop, several vox pops) or uncountable when talking about the technique.
Patterns
- a vox pop
- do a vox pop
- vox pops on the street
The reporter did a vox pop outside the station to hear what commuters thought.
The news program ended with a vox pop featuring shoppers' views on the new tax.
Vox pops are a quick way to add ordinary voices to a story.
Word forms
| plural | vox pops |
|---|
Common combinations
- do a vox pop
- The presenter decided to do a vox pop in the town center.
- vox pop segment
- The vox pop segment lasted two minutes.
- street vox pop
- They recorded a street vox pop about the election.
- vox pop on the issue
- The channel ran a vox pop on the issue of plastic waste.
Synonyms and how they differ
- man on the street interview
- This is a longer, more descriptive term for the same type of interview with an ordinary person.
- public opinion survey
- This is a more formal, systematic way of measuring public views, usually with many people and statistics.
Word family
- vox populi noun
- The Latin phrase meaning 'the voice of the people', from which 'vox pop' is shortened.
Commonly confused: vox pop or vox populi?
vox pop vs vox populi
This is the full Latin phrase meaning 'the voice of the people'; 'vox pop' is the informal short form used for the broadcast item.
Practice
For the evening news, the reporter stopped shoppers and asked their opinion about the new park. This is an example of ______.
Choose one answer.
A vox pop is a short interview with ordinary people to get public opinion. A pop quiz is a surprise test, and a pop-up is a temporary shop or window.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vox pop”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.