media

1 of 3

noun (1)

me·​dia ˈmē-dē-ə 

plural medias

often attributive

1

a

singular or plural in construction : mass media

b

medias plural : members of the mass media (such as news outlets)

2

: a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression

Air is a media that conveys sound.

especially : medium sense 2a

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.

there's no basis for it. You know, the news media gets on to something

—Edwin Meese 3d

the media is less interested in the party's policies

—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

2 of 3

noun (2)

me·​dia ˈmē-dē-ə 

plural mediae ˈmē-dē-ˌē 

1

[Late Latin, from Latin, feminine of medius; from the voiced stops' being regarded as intermediate between the tenues and the aspirates] : a voiced (see voiced sense 2) stop (see stop entry 2 sense 1b)

2

[New Latin, from Latin] : the middle coat of the wall of a blood or lymph (see lymph sense 2) vessel consisting chiefly of circular muscle fibers

media

3 of 3

plural of medium

Examples of media in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

After a year-long bake off, parks chief Josh D’Amaro was named Bob Iger’s successor at Disney, while TV boss Dana Walden was handed a new, improved role (Nellie’s piece on the American media glass ceiling remaining intact is well worth a read). —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 6 Feb. 2026

This is the first time in almost 25 years that the network has had media rights to pro basketball after joining Disney and Amazon in a $76 billion deal with the NBA in 2024. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026

The family of missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie has not yet heard from her possible kidnapper after media outlets received unverified ransom letters, her son Camron Guthrie said in a social media video. —Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 6 Feb. 2026

South Carolina state epidemiologist Linda Bell confirmed the complication was occurring there during a media briefing on February 4, according to Wired. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

plural of medium

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1922, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing media

• acute otitis media
• mass media
• media blitz
• media event
• mixed-media
• otitis media
• social media
• under the media spotlight
• via media

Rhymes for media

• comedia
• commedia
• cyclopaedia
• cyclopedia
• hypermedia
• intermedia
• multimedia
• encyclopaedia
• encyclopedia

Kids Definition

media

1 of 2

plural of medium

media

2 of 2 noun

me·​dia

ˈmēd-ē-ə

1

: a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression

especially : medium sense 3

2

a

singular or plural : forms or systems of communication designed to reach a large number of people : mass media

b

plural : members of the mass media

Medical Definition

media

1 of 3

plural of medium

media

2 of 3 noun

me·​dia ˈmēd-ē-ə 

plural mediae -ē-ˌē 

: the middle coat of the wall of a blood or lymph vessel consisting chiefly of circular muscle fibers

called also tunica media

media

3 of 3

see aero-otitis media, colica media, otitis media, scala media, serous otitis media

Geographical Definition

Media

geographical name

Me·​dia ˈmē-dē-ə 

ancient country and province of the Persian Empire in the northwestern part of modern Iran

Median

ˈmē-dē-ən 

adjective or noun