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The Washington Post (informally, WaPo) is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most-widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area, and has a large national audience. Daily broadsheet editions are printed for the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

The newspaper has won 69 Pulitzer Prizes, the second-most of any publication, after The New York Times. Post journalists have also received 18 Nieman Fellowships and 368 White House News Photographers Association awards. The paper is well-known for its political reporting.

In the early 1970s, in the best-known episode in the newspaper's history, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led the American press's investigation into what became known as the Watergate scandal, which resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon. In years since, the Post's investigations have led to increased review of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

In October 2013, the paper's longtime controlling family, the Graham family, sold the newspaper to Nash Holdings, a holding company established by Jeff Bezos, for $250 million in cash.

The newspaper was founded in 1877 by Stilson Hutchins (1838–1912), and in 1880 it added a Sunday edition, becoming the city's first newspaper to publish seven days a week.

In April 1878, about four months into publication, The Washington Post purchased The Washington Union, a competing newspaper which was founded by John Lynch in late 1877. The Union had only been in operation about six months at the time of the acquisition. The combined newspaper was published from the Globe Building as The Washington Post and Union beginning on April 15, 1878, with a circulation of 13,000. The Post and Union name was used about two weeks until April 29, 1878, returning to the original masthead the following day.

In 1889, Hutchins sold the newspaper to Frank Hatton, a former Postmaster General, and Beriah Wilkins, a former Democratic congressman from Ohio. To promote the newspaper, the new owners requested the leader of the United States Marine Band, John Philip Sousa, to compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. Sousa composed "The Washington Post". It became the standard music to accompany the two-step, a late 19th-century dance craze, and remains one of Sousa's best-known works.

In 1893, the newspaper moved to a building at 14th and E streets NW, where it would remain until 1950. This building combined all functions of the newspaper into one headquarters – newsroom, advertising, typesetting, and printing – that ran 24 hours per day.

In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, the Post printed Clifford K. Berryman's classic illustration Remember the Maine, which became the battle-cry for American sailors during the War. In 1902, Berryman published another famous cartoon in the Post – Drawing the Line in Mississippi. This cartoon depicts President Theodore Roosevelt showing compassion for a small bear cub and inspired New York store owner Morris Michtom to create the teddy bear.

Wilkins acquired Hatton's share of the newspaper in 1894 at Hatton's death. After Wilkins' death in 1903, his sons John and Robert ran the Post for two years before selling it in 1905 to John Roll McLean, owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer. During the Wilson presidency, the Post was credited with the "most famous newspaper typo" in D.C. history according to Reason magazine; the Post intended to report that President Wilson had been "entertaining" his future-wife Mrs. Galt, but instead wrote that he had been "entering" Mrs. Galt.

When John McLean died in 1916, he put the newspaper in trust, having little faith that his playboy son Edward "Ned" McLean could manage his inheritance. Ned went to court and broke the trust, but, under his management, the newspaper slumped toward ruin. He bled the paper for his lavish lifestyle, and used it to promote political agendas.

During the Red Summer of 1919 the Post supported the white mobs and even ran a front-page story which advertised the location at which white servicemen were planning to meet to carry out attacks on black Washingtonians.

In 1929, financier Eugene Meyer (who had run the War Finance Corp. since World War I) secretly made an offer of $5 million for the Post, but he was rebuffed by Ned McLean. On June 1, 1933, Meyer bought the paper at a bankruptcy auction for $825,000 three weeks after stepping down as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He had bid anonymously, and was prepared to go up to $2 million, far higher than the other bidders. These included William Randolph Hearst, who had long hoped to shut down the ailing Post to benefit his own Washington newspaper presence.

The Post's health and reputation were restored under Meyer's ownership. In 1946, he was succeeded as publisher by his son-in-law, Philip Graham. Meyer eventually gained the last laugh over Hearst, who had owned the old Washington Times and the Herald before their 1939 merger that formed the Times-Herald. This was in turn bought by and merged into the Post in 1954. The combined paper was officially named The Washington Post and Times-Herald until 1973, although the Times-Herald portion of the nameplate became less and less prominent over time. The merger left the Post with two remaining local competitors, the Washington Star (Evening Star) and The Washington Daily News which merged in 1972, forming the Washington Star-News.

After Phil Graham's death in 1963, control of The Washington Post Company passed to his wife Katharine Graham (1917–2001), who was also Eugene Meyer's daughter. Few women had run prominent national newspapers in the United States. Katharine Graham described her own anxiety and lack of confidence as she stepped into a leadership role in her autobiography. She served as publisher from 1969 to 1979.

Graham took The Washington Post Company public on June 15, 1971, in the midst of the Pentagon Papers controversy. A total of 1,294,000 shares were offered to the public at $26 per share. By the end of Graham's tenure as CEO in 1991, the stock was worth $888 per share, not counting the effect of an intermediate 4:1 stock split.

During this time, Graham also oversaw the Post company's diversification purchase of the for-profit education and training company Kaplan, Inc. for $40 million in 1984. Twenty years later, Kaplan had surpassed the Post newspaper as the company's leading contributor to income, and by 2010 Kaplan accounted for more than 60% of the entire company revenue stream.

Executive editor Ben Bradlee put the newspaper's reputation and resources behind reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who, in a long series of articles, chipped away at the story behind the 1972 burglary of Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington. The Post's dogged coverage of the story, the outcome of which ultimately played a major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon, won the newspaper a Pulitzer Prize in 1973.

In 1972, the "Book World" section was introduced with Pulitzer Prize-winning critic William McPherson as its first editor. It featured Pulitzer Prize-winning critics such as Jonathan Yardley and Michael Dirda, the latter of whom established his career as a critic at the Post.

In 1975, the pressmen's union went on strike. The Post hired replacement workers to replace the pressmen's union, and other unions returned to work in February 1976.

Donald E. Graham, Katharine's son, succeeded her as a publisher in 1979.

In 1995 the domain name washingtonpost.com was purchased. That same year, a failed effort to create an online news repository called Digital Ink launched. The following year it was shut down and the first website was launched in June 1996.

In 2013 Jeff Bezos purchased the paper for US$250 million cash. The newspaper is now owned by Nash Holdings LLC, a company controlled by Bezos. The sale also included some other local publications, websites and real estate. After the sale the Washington Post Co. became Graham Holdings Company.

Nash Holdings, including the Post, is operated separately from technology company Amazon, of which Bezos is the CEO and largest single shareholder (at about 10.9%).

Bezos said he has a vision that recreates "the 'daily ritual' of reading the Post as a bundle, not merely a series of individual stories...". He has been described as a "hands-off owner," holding teleconference calls with executive editor Martin Baron every two weeks. Bezos appointed Fred Ryan (founder and CEO of Politico) to serve as publisher and chief executive officer.

In 2014, the Post announced it was moving from 1150 15th Street to a leased space three blocks away at One Franklin Square on K Street.

The Washington Post is regarded as one of the leading daily American newspapers along with The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. The Post has distinguished itself through its political reporting on the workings of the White House, Congress, and other aspects of the U.S. government.

Unlike The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post does not print an edition for distribution away from the East Coast. However, a "National Weekly Edition" combines stories from a week of Post editions. The majority of its newsprint readership is in the District of Columbia, as well as its suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia.

As of April 2020, its average weekday circulation was 799,130 and its Sunday circulation was 1,029,921, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, making it the fifth largest newspaper in the country by circulation, behind USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. It has one of the highest market-penetration rates of any metropolitan news daily.

For many decades, the Post had its main office at 1150 15th Street NW. This real estate remained with Graham Holdings when the newspaper was sold to Jeff Bezos' Nash Holdings in 2013. Graham Holdings sold 1150 15th Street (along with 1515 L Street, 1523 L Street, and land beneath 1100 15th Street) for US$159 million in November 2013. The Washington Post continued to lease space at 1150 L Street NW. In May 2014, The Washington Post leased the west tower of One Franklin Square, a high-rise building at 1301 K Street NW in Washington, D.C. The newspaper moved into its new offices on December 14, 2015.

More than 850 people work in The Post's News department, helping to produce the most readable, compelling and accurate newspaper that we can, 365 days a year. In addition to the main newsroom in the District of Columbia, The Post maintains 12 bureaus in Maryland and Virginia, five bureaus around the country and 20 around the world.

The news staff is organized into six major departments responsible for daily coverage: National, Foreign, Metro, Business, Sports and Style. Photo and News Art provide visual coverage of the news. Additionally, several other departments are involved in the design, production and management of the newspaper: Photo, News Art, the News Desk, News Personnel, Information Technology and News Administration. Weekly feature sections have individual staffs of reporters, editors and designers.

Daily sections:
Main News
World class coverage of the day's most important local, national and international news plus thought provoking features, editorials, and The Federal Page focusing on issues and influentials (weekdays).

Metro
Washington's most comprehensive and insightful news coverage and commentary relating to the metro area including the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

Style
A lively daily guide to personalities, fashion, entertainment, leisure, art, architecture, dance, music, theater, cinema and television plus book reviews.

Sports
One of the nation's largest sports news staff reports on local, regional, national and international events with scores, features and commentary.

Business
Coverage of local, national and international economy, economic policy and personal finance issues; stock market closings, commodity markets and foreign exchange; technology.

Weekly sections:
Washington Business
Published Monday. In-depth review of local and regional business and financial news, international lending, stock quotations and features on computer know-how and personal investment.

Health
Published Tuesday. Articles and features focusing on fitness and exercise, health and wellness, medicine, nutrition and psychology.

Food
Published Wednesday. A guide to good food and fine dining with nutrition news, recipes and wine reviews.

Home
Published Thursday. A showcase for interior design and outdoor living spaces with special sections on local events and new products, styles of life, gardening and solutions for do-it-yourselfers.

Weekend
Published Friday. A lively guide to concerts, nightclubs, theater, dance, film and video, museums and galleries, family activities and outdoor recreation.

Real Estate
Published Saturday. The area's most complete look at new homes, real estate listings and mortgage rates with news, features and columns for homeowners, buyers and renters.

The Washington Post Magazine
Published Sunday. A flagship of the Sunday Post, The Washington Post Magazine combines ground-breaking journalism, lifestyle features and political and popular commentary in a high-quality visual environment.

Arts
Published Sunday. Reviews of notable personalities, events and exhibitions in the fine and performing arts, television and film.

Outlook
Published Sunday. Opinion, commentary and in-depth reporting providing a diversity of outlooks from distinguished columnists and guest writers.

Sunday Source
Published Sunday. Life and leisure ideas for active, energetic people; advice, projects, entertainment listings and more.

Travel
Published Sunday. Features on destinations, tips on bargains, travel trends and news including special focus issues such as European Travel and Cruise.

Color Comics
Published Sunday. Two bright, cheerful full color broadsheet sections include America's most popular comic strips and panels.

Car Pages
Published Sunday. Car reviews, car advice and more.