Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or being a newspaper page, usually opposite the editorial page, that features signed articles expressing personal viewpoints.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A newspaper page containing signed articles by commentators expressing viewpoints that may not agree with those espoused by the editorial board, traditionally printed opposite the editorial page.
  • adjective Of or being a newspaper page, usually opposite the editorial page, that features signed articles expressing personal viewpoints.
  • adjective Of an article, written in a style suitable for publication as an op-ed.
  • adjective Of a person, regularly expressing viewpoints by means of op-eds.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[op(posite) + ed(itorial).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Abbreviation for “opposite the editorial” (often incorrectly thought to be abbreviation for opinion/editorial).

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Examples

  • Anderson was referring to an op-ed piece the corps was preparing to counter an story that had run in the St. Louis Post-Dispach.

    Army Corps battles perceptions in Missouri River flood 2011

  • Anderson was referring to an op-ed piece the corps was preparing to counter an story that had run in the St. Louis Post-Dispach.

    Army Corps battles perceptions in Missouri River flood 2011

  • The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, in his Roll Call op-ed "President Is Ignoring Immigration Laws," Feb. 6, argues that a policy of deporting serious criminals instead of parents, military families and students attending college is bad for the country.

    Rep. Luis Gutierrez: In the Debate on Immigration, Deportation Must Be Sensible Rep. Luis Gutierrez 2012

  • A cheap-shot picture of grandma being thrown off a cliff by an evil Republican is worth at least a 1,000-word op-ed regarding $38 trillion in Medicare liabilities, a future funding crisis and the benefits of true marketplace competition in health care.

    GOP Must Better Communicate Its Medicare Plans 2011

  • I am going to piggyback on the WSJ debacle, namely the op-ed signed by 16 scientists stating there was "no need to panic over global warming", and the response letter signed by climate scientists, which states that the op-ed was the "climate-science equivalent of dentists practicing cardiology" -- since there were various non-climate scientists among the signatories.

    Astrid Caldas: Whatever Happened to "We Agree to Disagree"? Astrid Caldas 2012

  • They also oversimplified, though given the constraints of penning an op-ed, that is not easily avoidable.

    Superfusion Zachary Karabell 2009

  • They also oversimplified, though given the constraints of penning an op-ed, that is not easily avoidable.

    Superfusion Zachary Karabell 2009

  • They also oversimplified, though given the constraints of penning an op-ed, that is not easily avoidable.

    Superfusion Zachary Karabell 2009

  • Suddenly, in mid-December the White House forced the CIA to heavily censor a thousand-word op-ed planned for the New York Times on U.S. policy toward Iran.

    Fair Game Valerie Plame Wilson 2007

  • Piffle; that's why it's called the op-ed page, and why you don't see columns by Nocera, Carr, etc. on the front page.

    unknown title 2011

Comments

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  • I always thought that this meant "opinion and editorial", but then a note on Bill Walsh's Blogslot to the effect that most people don't know what the "op" really means led me to look it up. It turns out that "op-ed" means "opposite the editorial page." As someone who worked in newspapers for the better part of the 1990s, I am rather chagrined.

    August 15, 2008

  • rolig, I was under the same delusion :| Thanks for clarifying!

    August 15, 2008

  • Same delusion here, too. But I think it's an understandable and justified delusion, and will continue to labour under it.

    August 15, 2008