Op-ed

//ˈɒpˌɛd// adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A newspaper page containing signed articles by commentators expressing viewpoints that may not agree with those espoused by the editorial board, traditionally printed opposite the editorial page.

    "The purpose of an op-ed is to offer an opinion. It is not a news analysis or a weighing up of alternative views. It requires a clear thesis, backed by rigorously marshaled evidence, in the service of a persuasive argument."

Verb
  1. 1
    To write an op-ed article. ambitransitive, rare

    "Getting either or both of the Cubs and Red Sox into the World Series on their hallowed home fields had been a happy possibility nationally discussed and op-edded since July, and when the two teams were again dispatched winless into winter their fans were left with a last gnawing weirdness: […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or being a newspaper page, usually opposite the editorial page, that features signed articles expressing personal viewpoints.

    "The question was probably bottomed on a combination of phrases in a Washington Post op-ed article that appeared not three months before by Richard Haass, who was a foreign-policy adviser in both Bush administrations and is now president of the Council on Foreign Relations."

  2. 2
    Of an article, written in a style suitable for publication as an op-ed.

    "For a more ‘op ed’ approach to the current state of the Hong Kong art scene see my recent article "Doer's Droop," South China Morning Post, August 23, 2005, C6."

  3. 3
    Of a person, regularly expressing viewpoints by means of op-eds.

    "Descriptions of him vary from "aggressively intelligent," "inventive," "articulate," "the most ‘op-ed’ academic in the field of education" to "arrogant" "combative," "hostile," and "dismissive" of ideas not his own."

Example

More examples

"In interviews with conservative media and talk shows and a January 15 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Pack defended his actions, saying he was working to address long-standing security concerns at the agency and perceived liberal bias in VOA content."

Etymology

Abbreviation for “opposite the editorial” (often incorrectly thought to be abbreviation for opinion/editorial).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.