headline

1 of 3

noun

head·​line ˈhed-ˌlīn 

1

: words set at the head of a passage or page to introduce or categorize

2

a

: a head of a newspaper story or article usually printed in large type and giving the gist of the story or article that follows

b

headlines plural : major and widely reported news

the scandal made/grabbed headlines

a story in the headlines [=widely reported] for weeks

headline

2 of 3

verb

headlined; headlining; headlines

transitive verb

1

: to provide with a headline

2

: to publicize highly

3

: to be engaged as a leading performer in (a show)

headline

3 of 3

adjective

: deserving mention in a headline : very noteworthy

the headline abduction of a diplomat

Synonyms of headline

Noun

• title
• caption
• heading

Examples of headline in a Sentence

Noun

The story of his arrest appeared beneath the headline “Caught!”.

She only had time to scan the headlines before she had to rush out the door.

Surprising developments have kept the murder investigation in the headlines for several weeks.

She has grabbed the headlines by making public accusations of corruption within the government.

Verb

The band is headlining the music festival.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At the same time, their businesses are of the typical brick-and-mortar variety, rather than the headline-grabbing wealth associated with Silicon Valley and Wall Street. — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026

Matenopoulos returned to the show in mid-2025, and fronted a headline-making food segment that saw current panelist Sunny Hostin have an allergic reaction to walnuts in one of Matenopoulos’ book recipes. — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2026

Verb

Comedian TaTa Sherise headlines 50 Worst Dates, an improvised comedy series, while Broadway veterans Kristine Covillo and Ben Davis star in ReelArc’s psychological thriller Zero Point. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026

This year’s Coachella, headlined by Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G, drew the most concurrent viewers in the history of Coachella on YouTube, according to the company. — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026

Adjective

The key non-headline metric for Palo Alto is next-generation security annual recurring revenue, known as NGS ARR. — Kevin Stankiewicz,zev Fima, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026

Indie rock quartet The Beths and indie-pop trio Beach Bunny are teaming up for a co-headline tour this summer. — Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1860, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1906, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing headline

• headline inflation

Rhymes for headline

• affine
• airline
• align
• aline
• assign
• baseline
• beamline
• benign
• bloodline
• bovine
• brucine
• byline

Kids Definition

headline

1 of 2 noun

head·​line -ˌlīn 

1

: a line at the top of a page (as in a book) giving a heading

2

: the title over an item or article in a newspaper

headline

2 of 2 verb

1

: to provide with a headline

2

: to publicize highly