What does "tabloid" mean?
A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet.
Tabloid
/ˈtæblɔɪd/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet.
- Grammar: tabloid is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: catchpenny, compact format, compact size, daily.
- Useful contrasts: broadsheet, broadsheet format, broadsheet-sized.
- Usage evidence: My father would never read a tabloid newspaper.
How to use "tabloid"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tabloid" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tabloid" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tabloid" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tabloid" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tabloid" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "catchpenny" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tabloid", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A small, compressed portion of a chemical, drug, food substance, etc.; a pill, a tablet. archaic
"One of the compartments was found to contain some forty compressed tabloids, which on analysis proved to be potassium bromide."
- 2 newspaper with half-size pages wordnet
- 3 A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.; In full tabloid cruiser: a small yacht used for cruising. figuratively
"This boat Mayfay has been admirable as a tabloid cruiser and while Sure Mike is about her same size, Sure Mike is far more nicely modeled; she will not have Mayfay's 17-mile-an-hour homespun plainness."
- 4 sensationalist journalism wordnet
- 5 A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.; A newspaper having pages half the dimensions of a broadsheet, especially characterized as favouring stories of a popular or sensational nature over serious news. figuratively
"[…] Lyle Stuart, […] is known—notorious would be the proper word—for his publishing and writing in the fields of obscenity and extreme leftism: he puts out a sort of tabloid called "The Independent"."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A compact or compressed version of something; especially something having a popular or sensational nature.; A paper size 11 × 17 inches (279 × 432 millimetres) in dimensions. Canada, US, figuratively
Verb
- 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.). transitive
"This "tabloiding" of the latest fashions, we thought an excellent idea. Surely it's not the sole mission of a dry goods ad. to give news of bargains? Would not reliable information as to coming fashions be of equal interest to the average woman?"
- 2 To convert (a newspaper) into a tabloid (noun noun sense 2.2) format. transitive
"The ‘tabloiding’ of local newspapers has resulted in a ‘dumbing down’ of the local press. The publication of shorter, brighter, ‘frothier’ stories and the increasing reliance on stories about entertainment, consumer items and ‘human interest’ stories, are the infallible hallmarks of the tabloid genre."
Adjective
- 1 In the form of a tabloid (noun noun sense 2 and noun sense 2.2): compressed or compact in size. not-comparable
"Travellers, explorers and missionaries are enabled to carry the most effective medicines in the smallest possible space by using ‘Tabloid’ Medicine cases as supplied to [Henry Morton] Stanley and to all leading expeditions. ‘Tabloid’ medicines contain absolutely accurate doses of the purest drugs, require neither weighing nor measuring, and retain their activity after exposure to the most trying climates."
- 2 Resembling the style of journalism generally associated with a tabloid newspaper: appealing to unsophisticated people, sensational, etc. figuratively, not-comparable
"tabloid journalism"
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"My father would never read a tabloid newspaper."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tabloid"?
Common synonyms include: catchpenny, compact format, compact size, daily, daily newspaper, even.
How do you use "tabloid" in a sentence?
My father would never read a tabloid newspaper.
How do you pronounce "tabloid"?
Pronounced /ˈtæblɔɪd/.
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.