rumour

/ˈruːmə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈruːmər/ (ame, ipa)

rumour — noun

  • rumoursingular
  • rumoursplural

1. News or a tale that people tell each other without knowing whether it is true. T

1.名詞B1
釋義

News or a tale that people tell each other without knowing whether it is true. The information could be false, partly true, or simply impossible to verify.

例句

A rumour that the school might close spread through town within hours, though nobody knew if it was true.

collocation: spread a rumour

Hassan heard a rumour that the library would close, but the city council said it had no such plan.

rumour + that-clause

同義詞
  • gossip

    Focuses on personal or trivial matters being talked about, often with a negative tone

  • speculation

    Emphasises thinking or guessing without firm evidence, rather than a story being passed on

  • whisper

    Informal; suggests the rumour is being told secretly

  • hearsay

    Legal or formal term for information heard from others, not accepted as evidence

反義詞
  • fact

    Information that has been proved true

  • confirmation

    Official proof that something is true

文法句型

rumour + that-clause

rumour + about/of + noun

用法筆記

Often used with verbs that describe how information moves: spread, circulate, start, hear, believe, deny, or confirm. The preposition about or of introduces the subject of the rumour; a that-clause states the content directly.

常見錯誤

❌I heard a rumor that the school is closing.' (when writing in British English)
✅I heard a rumour that the school is closing.
💡'rumour' (with -our) is the correct British spelling; 'rumor' is American.
❌The story is a rumor, so it must be false.
✅A rumour may turn out to be true or false
💡it just has not been confirmed yet.' — A rumour is unverified, not necessarily untrue.

2. Used when repeating something that people are generally talking about, often wit

2.名詞B1
釋義

Used when repeating something that people are generally talking about, often without naming where the information came from. The speaker does not claim the information is true.

例句

Rumour has it that Renata will leave the design firm and start her own studio next year.

rumour has it + that-clause

Daichi heard a rumour going around that the final maths exam would be postponed by a week.

a rumour going around + that-clause

同義詞
  • word has it

    Less common but equivalent fixed phrase

  • the story goes

    Suggests a narrative being passed along, slightly more literary

  • it is said that

    More formal and general; can refer to belief rather than a circulating story

文法句型

rumour has it + that-clause

there is a rumour + that-clause

according to rumour

用法筆記

This sense appears in a limited set of fixed frames: Rumour has it that…, There is a rumour that…, According to rumour…, A rumour is going around that… The source of information is intentionally vague.

常見錯誤

❌The rumour says that the restaurant is closing.
✅Rumour has it that the restaurant is closing.
💡'The rumour says' is not a natural English pattern; use 'rumour has it' or 'there is a rumour that'.
❌According to the rumour, the price will go up.
✅According to rumour, the price will go up.
💡The fixed expression uses no article before 'rumour'.