item

item

/ˈaɪtəm/

1 one thing on a list of things to buy, do, talk about, etc.

What's the next item on the agenda?

There are plenty of vegetarian items on the menu.

She still has five items on her to-do list.

Students had to select three topics from the list of items.

There is a maximum score of two points per test item.

Collocations

adjective

preposition

item ofitem about

item on…

phrases

item by item

an item on the agenda, list, menu, etc.

2 a single object or thing

Can I pay for each item separately?

The price of many basic food items continues to rise.

household items such as brushes and bedclothes

item of something A windproof jacket is an essential item of clothing for hillwalking.

Are there any items of furniture you want to take with you?

The computer was my largest single item of expenditure.

This clock is a collector's item (= because it is rare and valuable).

Each individual item has a number.

Several valuable items were stolen.

There is a higher tax on luxury items.

3 a single piece of news in a newspaper, on television, online, etc.

The following news item may be of interest to you.

I heard an item on the radio about women engineers.

I came across two items of disturbing news.

The Journal is packed with items of interest from cover to cover.

The programme featured an item on clothes for young children.

a news item about drugs in the workplace

Idioms

Word Origin

late Middle English (as an adverb): from Latin, ‘in like manner, also’. The noun sense arose (late 16th cent.) from the use of the adverb to introduce each statement in a list.