Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

BILLIONAIRE

DEFINITION:
One whose wealth is estimated at a billion or more dollars, pounds, or other monetary units.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
About a dozen people took part in the “March for billionaires” on Saturday morning in San Francisco to raise awareness about the plight of the ultrarich.
►The Los Angeles Times, 02/09/2026

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Words in the News Quiz
5 Middle 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. Quota

► To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust.

► A proportional part or share.

► A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption.

► A Y-shaped protein on the surface of B cells that is secreted into the blood or lymph in response to an antigenic stimulus

2. Ultraviolet

► Of or relating to the range of invisible radiation wavelengths from about 4 nanometers, on the border of the x-ray region, to about 380 nanometers, just beyond the violet in the visible spectrum.

► A state of uncertainty or perplexity.

► Marked by hearty conviviality and good cheer.

► A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.

3. Silhouette

► An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.

► A drawing consisting of the outline of something, especially a human profile, filled in with a solid color.

► A treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having a permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation

► Relating to a system of writing, such as that of ancient Egypt, in which pictorial symbols are used to represent meaning or sounds or a combination of meaning and sound.

4. Gargoyle

► A relationship of mutual benefit or dependence.

► To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive

► A grotesque ornamental figure or projection.

► Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or accord.

5. Virtuoso

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► A person with masterly skill or technique in the arts.

► An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

► To condescend to give or grant

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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.