Bay Area Newsgroup Newspapers in Education.  The Mercury News, East Bay Times, Marin Independant Journal, Santa Cruz Sentinel.  Classroom Hero image. Bay Area Newsgroup Newspapers in Education.  The Mercury News, East Bay Times, Marin Independant Journal, Santa Cruz Sentinel.  Classroom Hero image.
Home About NIE Sponsor NIE Contact Us
Geography Last Week Front Page Cartoons News Video Words Use the News History Special Report Pulse NASA

Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

BACKLOT

DEFINITION:
An area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who serves the 4th District, makes her way across an empty, unnamed backlot, presenting her case to be the city’s next mayor.
The Los Angeles Times, 05/18/2026

Generate your own quiz
Select a grade level
 Elementary
 Middle School
 High School
Select a quiz type
 By words
 By Definitions
Select how many questions
5   10   15   20  

Words in the News Quiz
5 High School Words

Click on the correct answer in the quiz below.
Then see if you can find the word in your newspaper -- the print edition, the website or the digital edition and copy the sentence for context. NOTE: High School words are much harder to find!


1. Respiration

Architectural.

An extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy.

A doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated.

The act or process of inhaling and exhaling; breathing.


2. Tautology

Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree.

Of or relating to a holding of something in trust for another.

Needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy.

To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of.


3. Filibuster

The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.

The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules.

To seize another’s place, authority, or possession wrongfully.

A circular strand of DNA in bacteria that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.


4. Nadir

To seize another’s place, authority, or possession wrongfully.

A circular strand of DNA in bacteria that contains the hereditary information necessary for cell life.

Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness.

The lowest point


5. Impeach

To make an accusation against.

An advocate of the extension of political voting rights, especially to women.

Clear to the understanding.

Any of numerous natural and synthetic compounds consisting of up to millions of repeated linked units,


Get more Quizzes 

 Elementary School    Middle School   High School  

 By Word     By Definition    5  10  15  20 Questions

Common Core State Standard
LS.CCS.4/5/6 Grades 3-12: Students are asked to determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words through multiple choice vocabulary quizzes. Quizzes are designed to help students demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in words, acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words, and gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. Students are then asked to find the words within the newspaper and copy the sentence for context to its overall meaning or function in a sentence.