headline
part of speech
noun (a headline, headlines); verb (headline, headlines, headlined, headlining)
meaning for a pupil
1) The title printed in large letters above a story in a newspaper or on a news website. tree →
2) «The headlines» are the most important news stories of the day. tree →
3) (verb) To be the main act at a concert or show. tree →
sense in the lessons
In English and media lessons pupils write headlines for news reports: short, catchy, in the present tense («Dog Saves Boy»). Media literacy: a headline can be written to shock or to make you click, so read the whole story before you believe or share it. Phrases: «make the headlines», «hit the headlines».
examples
- The headline said «Local School Wins Prize». tree →
- Write a catchy headline for your news report. tree →
- The story made the headlines all over the country. tree →
- Read the article, not just the headline. tree →
- Clickbait headlines try to trick you into clicking. tree →
- We heard the headlines on the radio at breakfast. tree →
- A famous band will headline the festival. tree →
note
Countable: a headline, headlines. In headlines small words like «a», «the» and «is» are often left out, and the present tense is used for past events. A headline that shocks is not always true — check the facts.
In the corpora
- Bad-news gossip can feel caring but still spreads fear; offer help, not headlines.
- A headline word like «Megxit» or «snub» makes a complicated choice sound simple and nasty.
- Footballers and other stars are trained to say safe, boring things, because one wrong word can become a headline.
- Headlines about AI can exaggerate in both directions, overhyping or overscaring, so it is wise to read beyond the headline.
- A shark bite is a headline, but the cows and dogs that hurt far more people each year almost never are.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «headline» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.