rumor

noun ru·mor \ ˈrü-mər \

|Updated on: 10 Aug 2018

Examples: rumor in a Sentence

Definition of rumor

1 : talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source

2 : a statement or report current without known authority for its truth

3 archaic : talk or report of a notable person or event

4 : a soft low indistinct sound : murmur

See rumor defined for English-language learners

See rumor defined for kids

Examples of rumor in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of rumor from the Web

Every summer featured some sort of Ronaldo-Real Madrid rumor, mainly involving his contractual situation compared to other superstars.

— juan pimiento, chicagotribune.com, "Ronaldo's shock transfer, the World Cup semis and the best of the week in soccer," 12 July 2018
More: Appearing in trade rumors, Raisel Iglesias hopes to remain with Reds (Photo: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports) Mahle exited after 2 ⅓ innings, the shortest outing of his Major League career.

— bobby nightengale, Cincinnati.com, "Tyler Mahle roughed up, Cincinnati Reds crushed in 19-4 loss to Cleveland Indians," 11 July 2018
And one giant slot machine of rumor, speculation, innuendo, conjecture and overreaction.

— greg moore, azcentral, "Moore: Breaking down Suns buzz, speculation from NBA Summer League," 10 July 2018
A month later, though, Baldwin shut down any dating rumors, telling E!

— stacey leasca, Glamour, "A Complete Timeline of Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber's Relationship," 9 July 2018
In a recent interview with Nylon magazine, Riverdale's Camila Mendes, who has on multiple occasions promoted body positivity and supported her BFF Lili Reinhart amid ridiculous pregnancy rumors, opened up about struggling with an eating disorder.

— noelle devoe, Seventeen, "Camila Mendes From "Riverdale" Opens About Struggling With an Eating Disorder," 3 July 2018
All the burning questions and half-baked answers surrounding the LeBron James situation ... Are the rumors true?

— scott ostler, SFChronicle.com, "L.A. rolls out red carpet for LeBron and son," 1 July 2018
As had already been spoiled via rumors, the hugely popular Fortnite Battle Royale mode is coming to Switch—as in, today at 1pm ET, as Nintendo announced the game is going live on the Nintendo eShop.

— sam machkovech, Ars Technica, "December’s Smash Bros. Ultimate includes every existing character, plus Ridley," 12 June 2018
Well-sourced rumors named Schultz as Hillary Clinton’s candidate for secretary of Labor, and the NAACP awarded him its National Equal Justice Award in 2017.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "Howard Schultz’s Third Way," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rumor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of rumor

Middle English rumour, from Anglo-French, from Latin rumor clamor, gossip; akin to Old English rēon to lament, Sanskrit rauti he roars

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

rumor Synonyms

Synonyms

buzz, dish, gossip, hearsay, report, scuttlebutt, talk, tattle, word;

Related Words

tale, whisper, whispering;

hint, intimation, rumbling;

propaganda;

dirt, scandal;

rumor

verb

Definition of rumor

rumored; rumoring

transitive verb

: to tell or spread by rumor

Examples of rumor in a Sentence

for years people have been rumoring the CEO's imminent retirement

Recent Examples of rumor from the Web

Porat, 71, once rumored to be a possible contender for university president, had led the business school — which touts an enrollment of more than 9,000 students and has more than 200 full-time faculty — for 22 years.

— susan snyder, Philly.com, "Temple business dean forced out over falsified MBA data used in rankings," 9 July 2018
The project — rumored to be codenamed Marzipan — is still in the early stages, and Apple isn’t even planning on offering it to developers until 2019.

— chaim gartenberg, The Verge, "Bringing iOS apps to the Mac, on macOS’s terms," 7 June 2018
News of Jenner and Simmons’ rumored romance broke last week, when Page Six reported the pair were spotted on a lunch date at the Beverly Hills Hotel after being seen with a group of friends at New York City hotspot Vandal last week.

— natalie stone, PEOPLE.com, "Was Kendall Jenner Caught Making Out with Gigi and Bella Hadid's Brother Anwar?," 5 June 2018
Comcast's bid for European pay TV giant Sky and its rumored interest in a potential bid for parts of 21st Century Fox aren't signs of a lack of confidence in its core cable business, Comcast Cable president and CEO Dave Watson signaled on Monday.

— georg szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, "Comcast "Extremely Confident" in Current Business Despite Possible Deals, Cable Unit Boss Says," 14 May 2018
When Victor Cha, widely rumored to be the Trump administration’s pick for U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, came out against such a strike publicly, he was reportedly dropped from consideration.

— jon wolfsthal, The New Republic, "If It Seems Too Good to Be True...," 21 Apr. 2018
Thomas is the latest - and one of many - free agents rumored to be of interest to the Cowboys.

— peter dawson, star-telegram, "When does chit-chat between Earl Thomas, Cowboys become reality? | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 Mar. 2018
If media reports are accurate, that fear is one factor at the root of Trump’s rumored frustration with Kelly. 5.

— matthew dickinson, Washington Post, "Why John Kelly struggles so much as Trump’s chief of staff," 6 Mar. 2018
Curry was fired from the Today show back in 2012, with many rumoring Lauer played a role in her departure.

— wei-huan chen, Houston Chronicle, "Theater review: It's all about 'Ann' and her one-liners," 21 Feb. 2018