DictionaryAI

media

SayMEE-dee-uh/ˈmi.di.ə/UK/ˈmiː.di.ə/

Pluralmedias, mediae, media

9 meanings of media

Practice

  1. 1
    mass communicationnouncountable or uncountable
    The newspapers, television, radio, websites, and other means of mass communication, and the journalists who work in them.

    The country's media played a key role in shaping public opinion during the crisis.

    Independent media often face pressure from powerful governments.

    UsageBoth the media is and the media are are used; keep your choice consistent. The usual form is media, without -s.

    Similarpress

    Note

    Here the old plural has become a mass noun. It began as a clipping of "communications media" and is now often treated as singular, so "print-based media has declined" stands beside "the media are."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • Media originated as a plural of medium and, in this sense, a clipping of communications media. en.wiktionary.org
  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    Content such as films, shows, music, and images, whether broadcast, published, or stored as digital files.

    Streaming platforms have transformed how audiences access media.

    Modern media ranges from short video clips to feature-length documentaries.

    UsageOne item is a piece of media; a common phrase is popular media.

    Similarcontent

    Note

    The content itself, rather than the outlets that carry it, is usually treated as a mass noun. A single item is therefore "a piece of media"; Jordan Raynor calls films and TV shows "pieces of media" in Master of One (2020). "Popular media" is the everyday collocation for the shows and films a culture shares.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  3. 3
    adjectiveabbreviationclipping
    Clipping of multimedia: used before a noun for things that handle or contain audio, video and images, as in media player or media files.

    The new laptop has media keys for playing, pausing, and skipping songs.

    The media player on my laptop won't open this video file, so I downloaded a different app.

    Note

    This is a separate word in origin: a shortening of multimedia, not the Latin plural. In practice it shades into the content noun used attributively, and the meaning is the same either way.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • In this computing sense, media is a shortening of multimedia, distinguished etymologically from the plural of medium. en.wiktionary.org
  4. 4
    noun
    Plural of medium, including artists' materials and methods, communication channels, and substances that transmit waves or support growth.

    Oil and watercolor are two of the most traditional artistic media.

    Over the years the sculptor has worked in many media, from bronze and marble to recycled plastic.

    UsageFor people who claim to communicate with the dead, use mediums.

    Note

    This Latin neuter plural is the one English keeps for most senses of medium. It covers an artist's materials, the substances that waves pass through, the cultures that cells are grown in, and the channels of communication.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

media is a form of medium

medium, noun: A format through which information is communicated or presented to an audience. Full entry

Forms
mediummedia pluralmediums plural
Spelling
medium → media: irregular plural (no -s)

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of media apart? Answer 2 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4

This is the plural of medium formed in the Latin way, used especially as a short form of communications media and often treated as a singular or mass noun. Latin media was the neuter plural of medius ("middle"), which goes back to Proto-Italic *meðjos and Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ("between").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

  • Media is the Latin-style plural of medium, used especially as a shortened form of communications media. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin media is the neuter plural of medius, meaning middle. en.wiktionary.org
  • Latin medius descends from reconstructed Proto-Italic *meðjos, also transcribed *meðios. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Proto-Italic form descends from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, glossed as between. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 3

A shortening of multimedia, from multi- plus media ("forms of communication").

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts