rumor vs story

rumor

verb
  • To tell a rumor about; to gossip. 

noun
  • A statement or claim of questionable accuracy, from no known reliable source, usually spread by word of mouth. 

  • Information or misinformation of the kind contained in such claims. 

story

verb
  • To tell as a story; to relate or narrate about. 

noun
  • A lie, fiction. 

  • A sequence of events, or a situation, such as might be related in an account. 

  • An account of real or fictional events. 

  • A soap opera. 

  • A chronological collection of pictures or short videos published by a user on an application or website that is typically only available for a short period. 

How often have the words rumor and story occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )