What does blogger mean?
A blogger is a person who writes and publishes entries on a blog — a regularly updated website where content is displayed in reverse chronological order. Bloggers range from hobbyists keeping personal journals to professionals who earn a living through advertising, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. Many specialise in a niche such as food, travel, fashion, technology, or parenting, which has given rise to common compound terms like 'food blogger' and 'travel blogger'. The word derives from 'blog', itself a clipped form of 'weblog', and emerged in the late 1990s alongside the explosion of personal publishing on the internet. While blogging was once seen as amateur writing, the line between bloggers and journalists has blurred considerably; today the term describes a mainstream form of media work, though it still connotes a more personal, direct voice than traditional news reporting.
nounA person who writes or maintains a blog, regularly publishing posts on a website, typically on a particular subject or about their personal life and interests.
- A person who writes and publishes posts on a blog, whether as a hobby or professionally.
- (More broadly) anyone who regularly creates online written content, especially on their own platform.
"The food blogger posted a detailed review of the new ramen bar within hours of its opening."
"She has been a political blogger since university, publishing sharp commentary several times a week."
"As a travel blogger, he funds his journeys through sponsorships and affiliate links."
Regular plural; used when referring to multiple people who write blogs.
"Hundreds of bloggers gathered at the conference to compare notes on audience growth."
The word 'blogger' was born as a joke: 'weblog' was playfully split into 'we blog' in the late 1990s, accidentally creating a brand-new verb — and a profession that didn't exist a decade earlier.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of blogger
The word 'blogger' derives from 'blog', a contraction of 'weblog', a term coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 to describe the practice of logging interesting links on the web. In 1999, Peter Merholz jokingly split 'weblog' into 'we blog' on his own site, popularising 'blog' as both noun and verb; 'blogger' followed naturally as the agent noun for someone who keeps one. It is ultimately rooted in the older English word 'log', meaning a ship's record book, which also gives us 'logbook' and related terms.
Related word forms
How blogger is actually used
Neutral in register but often associated with informal or personal online writing; 'professional blogger' or 'full-time blogger' signals it as an occupation. The term carries no inherent prestige judgment, though some contexts treat blogging as distinct from traditional journalism.
Easily confused with blogger
A vlogger creates video content for platforms such as YouTube, whereas a blogger primarily writes text posts, though many people do both.