What does correspondent mean?
A correspondent is, most commonly today, a journalist who reports news on behalf of a newspaper, magazine, or broadcaster, typically specializing in a particular region (a foreign correspondent) or subject (a war correspondent, a political correspondent). The word also has an older, more literary sense: a person who regularly exchanges letters with another. Both senses derive from the same underlying idea of mutual exchange and reply — the correspondent is the party who responds or communicates in turn. In journalism, the term implies a degree of seniority, specialization, and often physical presence on location, distinguishing the correspondent from a general reporter who works primarily from an office. The word is standard and widely used throughout the English-speaking world, carrying a professional and slightly formal tone. Its plural is simply 'correspondents.'
A person who reports news from a particular place or on a particular subject for a newspaper, broadcaster, or other media organization.
"Our Washington correspondent will have more on tonight's broadcast."
This is the dominant modern sense.
A person with whom another regularly exchanges letters.
"Voltaire had hundreds of correspondents scattered across Europe."
An older, now somewhat formal or historical sense.
Regular English plural.
"The network dispatched several correspondents to cover the summit."
The word 'correspondent' literally means someone who 'answers back' — from Latin respondere, to reply — which is exactly what both letter writers and journalists do.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of correspondent
Correspondent derives from the Medieval Latin 'correspondens', the present participle of 'correspondere', meaning to agree, answer, or be in mutual relation, formed from Latin 'com-' (together) and 'respondere' (to answer). It entered English in the late sixteenth century, initially describing things that mutually agree or match, before extending to persons who communicate by letter and later, by the early nineteenth century, to journalists reporting from distant places. Cognates include French 'correspondant' and Italian 'corrispondente'.
How correspondent is actually used
The journalistic sense is now the dominant and most common usage in modern English. The older epistolary sense — a person with whom one exchanges letters — survives chiefly in historical or formal contexts. The word carries a professional, slightly formal register in its journalistic sense.
Easily confused with correspondent
A 'co-respondent' is a person named as a joint respondent in a legal action, especially in divorce proceedings, while a 'correspondent' is a letter writer or journalist.