tabloid

Meanings

1. A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet.
2. A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.
3. In full tabloid cruiser: a small yacht used for cruising.
4. A newspaper having pages half the dimensions of a broadsheet, especially characterized as favouring stories of a popular or sensational nature over serious news.
5. A paper size 11 × 17 inches (279 × 432 millimetres) in dimensions.

1. In the form of a tabloid (noun senses 2 and 2.2): compressed or compact in size.
2. Resembling the style of journalism generally associated with a tabloid newspaper: appealing to unsophisticated people, sensational, etc.

1. To express (something) in a compact or condensed manner, especially in the style of journalism generally associated with a tabloid newspaper (appealing to unsophisticated people, sensational, etc.).
2. To convert (a newspaper) into a tabloid (noun sense 2.2) format.

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 noun.

Translations