Meanings
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1
noun
A small-format newspaper that focuses on sensational stories, gossip, and celebrities.
The story was all over the tabloids the next morning.
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2
adj
Like the sensational, gossipy style of such newspapers.
The magazine is known for its tabloid journalism.
Thesaurus
Etymology
The noun is derived from tabl(et) + -oid (suffix meaning ‘having the likeness of, resembling’), originally coined by the United Kingdom firm Burroughs, Wellcome & Company as a brand name for their medicines and other products such as tea in tablet form and registered as a trademark on 14 March 1884. Noun sense 2 (“compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature”) is influenced by noun sense 2.2 (“newspaper characterized as favouring stories of a popular or sensational nature over serious news”). The adjective and verb are derived from the…
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