WORDS IN THE NEWS
USE THE NEWS
HISTORY
PULSE OF THE PLANET
NEWS VIDEO
GEOGRAPHY
FRONT PAGE
CARTOONS IN THE CLASSROOM

Words in the News

This Week's Word In The News 

ROOSTER TAIL

DEFINITION:
A high-arching spray (as of water, dust, or snow) thrown up behind a fast-moving motorboat, motor vehicle, or skier.

FOUND IN THE NEWS:
A second red flag was waved during the fifth race of the day when Rollin Transport got into a rooster tail on the turn of the first lap, resulting in the boat going onto its side before flipping.
►The Key West Citizen, 11/10/2025

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 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

► Either of two times of the year when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator.

► A fungus, usually of the class Ascomycetes, that grows symbiotically with algae,

► The distribution of energy emitted by a radiant source, arranged in order of wavelengths.

► A proportional part or share.

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.

► The pattern produced on a photosensitive medium that has been exposed by holography and then photographically developed.

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

► Loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline

3. Zoology

► To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion

► The branch of biology that deals with animals and animal life, including the study of the structure, physiology, development, and classification of animals.

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

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

4. Sect

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

► A disorderly commotion or disturbance.

► A cult or religious movement, a group sharing particular (often unorthodox) political and/or religious beliefs.

► The science and art of using all the forces of a nation to execute approved plans as effectively as possible during peace or war.

5. Stereotype

► A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy

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

► Any of various nonplacental mammals, including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in Australia and the Americas.

► A conventional, formulaic, and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image.

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.