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.
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 3plural of medium
Cite this Entry
“Media.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/media. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.
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