news S1 W1 /njuːz $ nuːz/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ new , ↑ renewable , ↑ renewed , ↑ newsy ; noun : ↑ news , ↑ renewal ; verb : ↑ renew ; adverb : ↑ newly ]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: new ]
1 . information about something that has happened recently:
I hope to have some good news for you soon.
news that
We are delighted at the news that our daughter is expecting a baby.
news on
What’s the latest news on your university application?
news of/about
Everyone is shocked by the news of the arrests.
GRAMMAR
News is an uncountable noun. Use singular forms with it, not plural ones:
▪
The news was good (NOT were good).
▪
I was surprised by this news (NOT these news).
2 . reports of recent events in the newspapers or on the radio or television:
a late evening news broadcast
We’ve got the news headlines coming up at half past twelve.
a news and current affairs programme
Here’s the sports news from Jane Murray.
the latest news from the Olympic stadium
news about/on/of
news on the latest developments in the talks
news that
Several evening papers carried the news that a cabinet minister was about to resign.
local/regional/national/international news
Twenty years ago environmental issues rarely made the news (=were rarely considered important enough to be in the news) .
be in the news
Hong Kong is in the news this morning.
His resignation was front page news (=was important news) .
news story/report/item
Never before has a news story triggered such sensational sales of the newspaper.
3 . the news a regular television or radio programme that gives you reports of recent events:
the ten o'clock news
Let’s watch the news.
Be quiet. I want to listen to the news.
on the news
It must be true – I heard it on the news last night.
switch/turn/put on the news (=turn the television or radio on for the news)
4 . be good/bad news for somebody if the facts about something are good or bad news for someone, they are likely to make life better or worse for them:
There is no legal market for African ivory, which is good news for the elephants.
5 . he’s/she’s bad news informal used to say that someone is likely to cause trouble:
Stay away from that guy, he’s bad news.
6 . be news if someone or something is news, people are interested in them at the moment and want to know about them:
European fashions are big news right now in the States.
7 . that’s news to me! spoken used when you are surprised or annoyed because you have not been told something earlier:
‘The meeting’s been cancelled.’ ‘That’s news to me!’
8 . I’ve got news for you spoken used to say that you are going to tell someone the facts about something, which they will probably not like to hear:
You may think I’m finished, but I’ve got news for you – I’ll be back.
9 . no news is good news spoken used when you have not received any news about someone and you hope this means that nothing bad has happened
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ good news
He’s feeling much better, so that’s good news.
▪ great/wonderful news
They're getting married? That's wonderful news!
▪ welcome news (=good news that makes you happy)
The lower interest rates will be welcome news to home owners.
▪ bad news
‘I’m afraid I have bad news,’ said Jackson.
|
Have you heard the terrible news about Simon?
▪ terrible news (=very bad)
▪ the latest news
Mom sent a letter with all the latest news.
▪ old news (=news that you have already heard)
She wasn’t surprised; it was old news to her.
▪ important news
I've got some important news to tell you.
▪ the big news informal (=an important piece of news)
The big news is that Polly and Richard are going to get married.
■ verbs
▪ have some news (for somebody)
I could tell by his face that he had some news.
▪ tell somebody the news
Jack called him to tell him the good news.
▪ break the news (to somebody) (=tell someone some bad news)
Two policemen came to the door to break the news about her husband.
▪ spread the news (=tell a lot of people the news)
After she had the baby, her husband made phone calls to spread the happy news.
▪ hear the news (=hear about something that has happened)
She was really upset when she heard the news.
▪ welcome the news formal (=say that you are pleased about some news)
Environmental groups welcomed the news that the area would be protected.
▪ greet the news with surprise/delight etc formal (=react to the news in a particular way)
Fans greeted the news of the victory with a loud cheer.
▪ news spreads (=a lot of people find out the news from other people)
News spreads fast in a small town.
■ phrases
▪ a piece of news ( also a bit of news British English )
Leo thought about this piece of news carefully.
▪ the good news is …/the bad news is ... (=used to introduce a piece of good and bad news)
The good news is that most stores have the game in stock; the bad news is that it's not cheap.