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fourth estate

Syllabification: (fourth es·tate)
Definition of fourth estate

noun

(the fourth estate)
  • the press; the profession of journalism:copy desks are held together by the bad-news contingent of the fourth estate

Origin:

originally used humorously in various contexts; its first usage with reference to the press has been attributed to Edmund Burke, but this remains unconfirmed

fourth estate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of fourth estate in the British & World English dictionary