report

present singular third person reports · participle present reporting · participle past reported · past reported · first person past singular reported · archaic present second person singular reportest · past second person singular reported · archaic past second person singular reportedst · present singular third person reports · archaic present singular third person reporteth · past singular third person reported · past plural reported · past subjunctive reported · participle present reporting · participle past reported

1. intransitivetransitiveTo relate details of (an event or incident); to recount, describe (something).First known use 15th c.

   Many of these classic methods are still used, with some modern improvements. For example, with the aid of special microphones and automated sound detection software, ornithologists recently reported[…]that pine siskins (Spinus pinus) undergo an irregular, nomadic type of nocturnal migration.

   2013 January 1, Paul Bartel, Ashli Moore, “Avian Migration: The Ultimate Red-Eye Flight”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 1, pages 47–48

2. transitiveTo repeat (something one has heard), to retell; to pass on, convey (a message, information etc.).First known use 15th c.
3. obsoletereflexiveTo take oneself (to someone or something) for guidance or support; to appeal.First known use 15th–18th c.

   thenne they ansuerd by and by that they coude not excuse the quene /[…]/ Allas sayd the quene I made this dyner for a good entente / and neuer for none euyl soo almyghty god me help in my ryght as I was neuer purposed to doo suche euylle dedes / and that I reporte me vnto god

   1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “ij”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XVIII

4. formaltransitiveTo notify someone of (particular intelligence, suspicions, illegality, misconduct etc.); to make notification to relevant authorities; to submit a formal report of.First known use 15th c.

   For insurance reasons, I had to report the theft to the local police station.

5. transitiveTo make a formal statement, especially of complaint, about (someone).First known use 19th c.

   If you do that again I'll report you to the boss.

6. intransitiveTo show up or appear at an appointed time; to present oneself.First known use 19th c.
7. ambitransitiveTo write news reports (for); to cover as a journalist or reporter.First known use 19th c.

   Every newspaper reported the war.

   2 more examples

   Andrew Marr reports now on more in-fighting at Westminster.

   In January, the country’s weather agency sent aircraft to release chemicals into clouds over the Yellow Sea, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

   2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)

8. intransitiveTo be accountable to or subordinate to (someone) in a hierarchy; to receive orders from (someone); to give official updates to (someone who is above oneself in a hierarchy).

   The financial director reports to the CEO.

   2 more examples

   Now that I've been promoted, I report to Benjamin, whom I loathe.

   Although she was junior to [Barret] Zoph, the report said that she did not report directly to him.

   2026 January 22, R. Ghosh, “Who Is Barret Zoph? Co-Founder of $12B AI Startup Fired after CEO Mira Murati Learns of Office Affair as Both Lovebirds Go Back to OpenAI”, in International Business Times

9. datedgovernmentTo return or present as the result of an examination or consideration of any matter officially referred.

   The committee reported the bill with amendments, or reported a new bill, or reported the results of an inquiry.

10. To take minutes of (a speech, the doings of a public body, etc.); to write down from the lips of a speaker.
11. obsoleteTo refer.

    Baldwine his ſonne, the fourth of that name [Baldwin IV of Jerusalem], ſucceeded his father [Amalric of Jerusalem]: ſo like unto him, that we report the reader to the character of King Almerick, and will ſpare the repeating his description.

    1639, Thomas Fuller, “Baldwine the Fourth Succeedeth; His Education under William the Reverend Archbishop of Tyre”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book II, page 94

12. ambitransitiveobsoleterareTo return or repeat, as sound; to echo.

    a church with windows only from above[…] that reporteth the voice twelve or thirteen times

    1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC

13. nauticalOf a ship, to return to a port.

    Our ship leaves port on Monday and will re-port on Friday.

plural reports

1. A piece of information describing, or an account of certain events given or presented to someone, with the most common adpositions being by (referring to creator of the report) and on (referring to the subject).

   A report by the telecommunications ministry on the phone network revealed a severe capacity problem.

   1 more example

   Hospitals are failing to care properly for the growing number of people with dementia, according to an NHS-funded report, which has prompted demands for big improvements to help patients.

   2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in The Guardian

2. Reputation.

   I love thee in such sort / As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report.

   1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 36”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC

   1 more example

   Certain it is that if he had been daft before, he now ran wild in his pranks, and an evil report of him was in every mouth.

   1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide

3. engineeringThe sharp, loud sound of a gunshot or explosion.

   […] a pistol-shot, flash and report, came from the hedge-side.

   1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC

   3 more examples

   While their masters, the mates, seemed afraid of the sound of the hinges of their own jaws, the harpooneers chewed their food with such a relish that there was a report to it.

   1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Cabin Table”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 166

   He knelt upon one knee, cocked the weapon, placed the muzzle against the man's forehead, and turning away his eyes pulled the trigger. There was no report. He had used his last cartridge for the horse.

   1889, Ambrose Bierce, The Coup de Grâce

   Waziri’s warriors marched at a rapid trot through the jungle in the direction of the village. For a few minutes, the sharp cracking of guns ahead warned them to haste, but finally the reports dwindled to an occasional shot, presently ceasing altogether.

   1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg, published March 1915, →OCLC

4. businessAn employee whose position in a corporate hierarchy is below that of a particular manager.

   The revelation that boss of one year Laurent Freixe was conducting an undisclosed affair with a direct report has rocked a 159-year-old conglomerate that pioneered infant formula and milk chocolate before growing to become the world's largest food and beverage company.

   2025 September 20, Madeleine Speed, Mercedes Ruehl, “The meltdown at Nestlé”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 6

   Synonyms: subordinate