Word

correspondent

noun C1

UK /ˌkɒɹ.ɪˈspɒn.dənt/

US /ˌkɔɹ.ɪˈspɑn.dənt/

Meanings

noun

a journalist who reports news from a particular place or on a particular subject

noun

a person you regularly exchange letters or emails with

Definition

A correspondent is someone who regularly reports news from a particular place or on a particular topic.

A correspondent is a journalist who sends reports to a newspaper, TV channel, radio station, or website. They often work in a specific region or specialise in an area such as politics, business, or war. The word can also refer to someone you exchange letters or emails with, though the media meaning is more common today.

Examples

As a foreign correspondent, I filed my report from the border within minutes of the announcement.
The correspondent asked tough follow-up questions during the live press briefing.
He became the paper’s political correspondent after years of covering local elections.
Our correspondent in Nairobi sent a vivid account of the flooding and the relief efforts.
She still writes to a longtime correspondent she first met through a university exchange.

Common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse correspondent (a reporter or letter-writer) with corresponding (matching or related) and use the wrong form.