breaking story
21
3.2
- noun
- /ˈbreɪkɪŋ ˈstɔri/
- Specialized
- Our coverage of this breaking story begins with Jessica Abo at the scene.
- a late-breaking story
- breaking story tonight
- coverage of a breaking story
Examples
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We'll have more on this breaking story in Panama when we return.
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Of course, we'll have more on this late-breaking story as it comes in.
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We're following a major breaking story.
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More soon on that breaking story.
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We have this breaking story.
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We're following developments in this breaking story.
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A breaking story for Central Texas tonight.
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We interrupt this program with a breaking story... ...one that is shocking the nation and the world.
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And now, here's Mary Dilts, reporting live with a breaking story from downtown.
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We will keep you updated on this breaking story throughout the hour.
Synonyms
99
1.1
A short spoken or written account of recent events in the media
65
3.4
A short news message giving immediate information
54
1.0
Most recent information about an event or topic
14
3.1
A short, sudden announcement about important breaking news
14
2.9
A short announcement of the latest news on radio or TV
13
2.0
A short report about one event in a newspaper or on TV
How Immediate
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'breaking' (just revealed or currently happening) modifies 'story' to indicate a narrative/report that is newly unfolding or has just been revealed. This follows a common participle + noun pattern and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Breaking story comes from the idea of breaking meaning 'suddenly appearing' and story meaning 'news report', because such news breaks into the regular flow and often interrupts other shows. So a breaking story is a news report about an event that is 'happening now'.