Report

How to spell report

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce report

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does report mean?

1. nounA spoken or written account presenting information about something investigated or observed.
2. verbTo give a spoken or written account, or to present oneself formally somewhere.

Report in a sentence

• noun

  The annual report showed a sharp rise in profits.

• verb

  Staff must report any safety hazard to the supervisor.

• noun

  She handed the finished report to her manager before lunch.

• verb

  New recruits should report to the front desk at nine.

Where does report come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin verb reportare, meaning literally 'to carry back', formed from re- 'back' and portare 'to carry'. The original sense was the physical bringing back of something, but it quickly extended to carrying back news or an account of what one had seen. English took it from Old French reporter in the late 1300s, first as a verb meaning to tell or relate, and soon afterwards as a noun for a spoken or written account. The same portare root sits inside many familiar words, including 'transport', 'export', and 'porter', all of which involve carrying. Because the spelling keeps the tidy re- plus port pattern, it is rarely a trap; the only thing to remember is the single t at the end.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• port (carry, from Latin portare)
• (no suffix)