Is media singular or plural?: Usage Guide
The singular media and its plural medias seem to have originated in the field of advertising over 70 years ago; they are still so used without stigma in that specialized field. In most other applications media is used as a plural of medium. The popularity of the word in references to the agencies of mass communication is leading to the formation of a mass noun, construed as a singular.
Edwin Meese 3d
James Lewis, Guardian Weekly
This use is not as well established as the mass-noun use of data and is likely to incur criticism especially in writing.
media
3 of 3plural of medium
Examples of media in a Sentence
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
Trump raised the prospect of future arrests of some of the Jan. 6 committee participants in a social media post on March 18.
—Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 17 Apr. 2024
Criticizing an outfit design that other athletes may prefer is not the answer, Moon said in a social media post.
—Emma Bowman, NPR, 17 Apr. 2024
Additionally, Iger at a recent media event said the company likely would hold back some of its theme park funds so the organization could move on the popularity of new films or franchises.
—Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Many of us seek beauty inspiration from our social media feeds, particularly from Black women who provide us with great recommendations for skincare products.
—Larry Stansbury, Essence, 16 Apr. 2024
As in previous seasons, contestants must use catfishing and other deception techniques entirely on a social media application to win over their fellow contestants' approval and, in the end, $100,000.
—Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Apr. 2024
In a social media post on Thursday, Ms. Noem argued that her comments about cartel activity on the reservations were similar to remarks that Senator Jon Tester, Democrat of Montana, made last month before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
—Neil Vigdor, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
The social media numbers were included in the center’s after-storm report, an analysis compiled for every tropical cyclone tracked by the agency.
—Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'media.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Media.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/media. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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