1
: talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source
We make our blunders … as rumor has it that you make your own.—
Benjamin N. Cardozo
Benjamin N. Cardozo2
: a statement or report current without known authority for its truth
She accused them of spreading rumors about her.
"Have you heard they broke up?" "That's just a rumor."
3
archaic
: talk or report of a notable person or event
4
: a soft low indistinct sound : murmur
Examples of rumor in a Sentence
Noun
There are rumors that they are making a new film.
She accused him of starting rumors about her.
Ever since his sudden resignation, rumors have been flying.
I heard a rumor that they broke up.
“Did you hear that they broke up?” “That's just a rumor.”
The rumor turned out to be false.
You can't fire him solely based on rumor.
Rumor has it that they broke up.
Verb
for years people have been rumoring the CEO's imminent retirement
Recent Examples on the Web
Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 22 Nov. 2025
However, after a reconciliation and tearful goodbye with Glinda, Elphaba forms a plan to use the rumor that getting wet will kill her to her advantage and—unbeknownst to Glinda—ultimately fakes her own death by allowing Dorothy to throw a bucket a water on her.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 21 Nov. 2025
Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 22 Nov. 2025
So when November rolled around with no Thanksgiving declaration in sight, it is rumored, according the Library of Congress, that a church congregation wrote a letter to Johnson asking him to remember the holiday.
—Angele Latham, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rumor
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Noun
The report comes months after rumors spread that Jeff Bezos was gifting Vogue and Condé Nast to Sánchez as a wedding gift.
—Stylecaster Editors, StyleCaster, 22 Nov. 2025
However, after a reconciliation and tearful goodbye with Glinda, Elphaba forms a plan to use the rumor that getting wet will kill her to her advantage and—unbeknownst to Glinda—ultimately fakes her own death by allowing Dorothy to throw a bucket a water on her.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 21 Nov. 2025
Verb
And although it was rumored that then-commissioner David Stern denied the trade out of concern that other team owners object to the league’s best point guard playing alongside Kobe Bryant, the league denied that was the case.
—Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 22 Nov. 2025
So when November rolled around with no Thanksgiving declaration in sight, it is rumored, according the Library of Congress, that a church congregation wrote a letter to Johnson asking him to remember the holiday.
—Angele Latham, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rumor
Cite this Entry
“Rumor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rumor. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.
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