followverb
FOL-oh
To monitor a story, topic, or situation over time; to keep informed about ongoing developments.
"Have you been following the trial? It's reached a critical stage — the verdict could come as early as this week."
keep up withphrasal verb
keep up WITH
To stay informed about something as it develops; to maintain awareness of a fast-moving situation.
"It's hard to keep up with the story — new developments are coming out every few hours and the picture keeps changing."
be up to date onprepositional phrase
be up tuh DAYT on
To have the most recent information about a topic or situation.
"Are you up to date on the election results? There have been some surprising developments in the last hour."
break downphrasal verb
brayk DOWN
To explain something complex in simpler terms; to analyze a situation by separating it into its component parts.
"Can you break down what's actually happening? The coverage has been confusing and I can't tell what the key issue is."
weigh inphrasal verb
way IN
To contribute one's opinion to a discussion, especially one already underway; to enter a debate.
"Several prominent economists have weighed in on the policy — their views have shifted the debate significantly."
takenoun
tayk
A person's opinion or interpretation of a situation or event; one's personal reading of what something means.
"What's your take on the prime minister's announcement? I'm not sure whether to read it as a genuine shift or just politics."
make ofphrasal verb (idiom)
mayk uv
To form an opinion about; to interpret or understand something — often used in the question "What do you make of...?"
"What do you make of the latest figures? I find them hard to interpret without more context about the methodology."
shed light onidiomatic phrase
shed lyt on
To clarify or explain something that was previously unclear or unknown.
"The leaked documents shed light on exactly how the decision was made — and who knew what and when."
put in contextidiomatic phrase
put in KON-tekst
To provide the background information needed to understand a fact or event properly.
"The number sounds alarming, but to put it in context — this level of unemployment was considered normal just fifteen years ago."
spark debateverb phrase
spark dih-BAYT
To trigger a public controversy or discussion; to be the catalyst for widespread disagreement.
"The ruling has sparked debate across the country — opinion is deeply divided and the issue has now entered the election campaign."
polarizeverb
POH-luh-ryz
To divide opinion sharply into two opposing camps; to cause people to take extreme positions on an issue.
"Few topics polarize opinion as quickly as immigration — it seems impossible to discuss it without people immediately retreating to entrenched positions."
dominate the headlinesverb phrase
DOM-ih-nayt thuh HED-lynz
To be the most prominent story in the news; to receive more attention than any other current event.
"The scandal has dominated the headlines for three weeks now — it's squeezing out coverage of every other major story."
go viralverb phrase
goh VY-rul
To spread rapidly across social media or the internet, reaching a very large audience in a short time.
"The video went viral within hours — by the time journalists began verifying the content, it had already been seen by millions."
trendverb
trend
To appear prominently in social media discussions; to be among the most talked-about topics on a platform at a given moment.
"The hashtag was trending all morning — which tells you something about public interest, though not necessarily about the importance of the story."
be doing the roundsidiomatic phrase
be DOO-ing thuh rownds
To be circulating widely in conversation or on social media; to be a story or piece of information that many people are sharing.
"That clip has been doing the rounds all week — but I'd check the original source before taking it at face value."
pick up steamidiomatic phrase
pik up STEEM
To gain momentum or increasing attention; to grow in significance or intensity over time.
"The story picked up steam after a second whistleblower came forward — what had been a minor report became the main news."
developverb
dih-VEL-up
To evolve or change as new information comes in; used of news stories that are ongoing and still unfolding.
"This is a developing story — the details we have now may look quite different once more information becomes available."
unfoldverb
un-FOHLD
To happen gradually or become clear over time; to describe events as they emerge in sequence.
"We watched the crisis unfold in real time — each hour brought new information that changed the picture completely."
escalateverb
ES-kuh-layt
To increase in intensity, seriousness, or scale; used when a situation becomes worse or more serious.
"What began as a trade dispute has escalated into a full diplomatic crisis — both sides have now recalled their ambassadors."
de-escalateverb
dee-ES-kuh-layt
To reduce the intensity or severity of a situation; to take steps that calm or defuse a conflict.
"Both sides appear to be trying to de-escalate — the language has softened and back-channel talks are reportedly underway."
be resolvedverb phrase
be rih-ZOLVD
To be settled or brought to a conclusion; to have reached an outcome after a period of uncertainty or dispute.
"The dispute was finally resolved after six months of negotiations — though not everyone is satisfied with the outcome."
remain unresolvedverb phrase
rih-MAYN un-rih-ZOLVD
To continue without a conclusion; to describe a situation in which the underlying issues have not been settled.
"The core question of who controls the disputed territory remains unresolved — and may be for decades."
stay tunedidiomatic phrase
stay TYOOND
To continue paying attention as a story develops; originally a broadcasting instruction, now used conversationally.
"The verdict is expected this afternoon — stay tuned, because this one could change everything."
wait and seeidiomatic phrase
wayt and SEE
To delay forming a judgment until more information is available; to reserve opinion on an uncertain situation.
"I'm reserving judgment for now — we'll have to wait and see how the policy actually plays out before we can evaluate it fairly."
breakingadjective
BRAYK-ing
Describing news that is happening right now and has not yet been fully reported; the most immediate and urgent category of news.
"Breaking news should always be treated with caution — the first reports are often incomplete, sometimes wrong, and rarely give the full picture."