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

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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. Taxonomy

Warlike in manner or temperament; pugnacious.

Division into ordered groups or categories.

The process in cell division by which the nucleus divides.

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


2. Expurgate

A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.

A product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away; debris.

To remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material from (a book, for example) before publication.

Lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid.


3. Photosynthesis

Of the same or similar nature or kind

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source.

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


4. Gerrymander

Very talkative; garrulous.

To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.

A temple tower of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding stories.

The clear, yellowish fluid portion of blood, lymph, or intramuscular fluid in which cells are suspended.


5. Churlish

Put together; created.

Having a bad disposition; surly.

Characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness.

To impress (something) upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition; instill.


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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.