eavesdrop
Americanverb (used without object)
-
eavesdrops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
eavesdropped,
past participle, past
-
eavesdropping
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
eavesdrops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
eavesdropped,
past participle, past
-
eavesdropping
present participle
noun
-
water that drips from the eaves.
-
the ground on which such water falls.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
eavesdropsimple
-
eavesdropssimple
-
have eavesdroppedperfect
-
has eavesdroppedperfect
-
am eavesdroppingprogressive
-
are eavesdroppingprogressive
-
is eavesdroppingprogressive
-
have been eavesdroppingperfect progressive
-
has been eavesdroppingperfect progressive
Past
-
eavesdroppedsimple
-
had eavesdroppedperfect
-
was eavesdroppingprogressive
-
were eavesdroppingprogressive
-
had been eavesdroppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of eavesdrop
before 900; (noun) Middle English evesdrope, evesdripe, Old English yfesdrype; as v., probably back formation from eavesdropper, late Middle English evisdroppyr, apparently literally, one who stands on the eavesdrop in order to listen to conversations inside the house; see eave, drop, drip
Explanation
When you eavesdrop, you secretly listen in on someone's conversation. A little girl might eavesdrop on her parents in an attempt to find out what she's getting for her birthday. Whenever you deliberately overhear a phone conversation, or two people having a quiet argument, you eavesdrop. You might eavesdrop on a funny exchange between two friends at a cafe, or eavesdrop on an important conversation between your boss and one of your coworkers. The verb eavesdrop comes from the old-fashioned noun eavesdropper, "one who listens from under the eaves," from the even more old-fashioned eavesdrop, "ground where rainwater drips off the roof."
Vocabulary lists containing eavesdrop
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"The Scholarship Jacket" by Marta Salinas
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The president sometimes messes with the reporters on the line or lets people around him eavesdrop on speakerphone.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2026
In rehearsal, Mays fully inhabits his role — and his costume — moving with a lithe formality as he strives to eavesdrop on Mozart and Constanze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Ushakov suggested during one interview with a Russian news site that some conversations happen over WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging app owned by Meta, and that could allow people to eavesdrop.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
Their ability to detect low-frequency sounds helps them eavesdrop on the mating calls of frogs.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2025
He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he wasn’t sure what to do.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
One of the few au courant innovations on “What’s in the Box?” involves surveillance: As one couple answers questions, the camera eavesdrops on the conversations among their competition, which can range from catty to worse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Mailata, a five-year veteran, eavesdrops on Kelce’s tutorials to Jurgens so he can learn more about football.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2023
Madoc breezily retrieves a cocktail and eavesdrops on the guests' appraisals of his latest, ranging from envious to gushing.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2022
The film eavesdrops on a group of teenage students during a critical day in their lives, when a classmate’s funeral has prompted them to wrestle with social status and school personas.
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2022
Mom eavesdrops on Abuela and me then lambastes us with one of her sixty-odd diatribes when she doesn’t like what she hears.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
“Maybe they’re fakes, maybe they are eavesdropped conversations,” Putin said of the transcripts earlier reported by Bloomberg News.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
What none of the call's participants know is that they're being eavesdropped on - and their conversation is being recorded.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2024
He said he learned at trial that authorities eavesdropped on his conversations with his wife when she visited him in detention, and “then used it against me.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 16, 2023
Amid revelations that the NSA had eavesdropped on allied leaders — including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.N. diplomats — President Barack Obama in 2013 ordered the agency to stop the practice.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2023
As all this unfolded, busybody that I am, I kept tabs, eavesdropped, observed.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
Nathan Hochman announced he would reduce 16 felony eavesdropping counts against Officer Daniel Flores to misdemeanors, and that the case would likely resolve in court through a diversion agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
It was part of a network of country houses with similar set-ups for eavesdropping, with the gathered intelligence then shared with Bletchley Park.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The moment the door to the flat was forced was recorded on an audio eavesdropping device - a bug - that UK law enforcement had put in the flat.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
Any attempt to intercept the quantum signals disturbs them, creating detectable errors that alert users to possible eavesdropping.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 17, 2026
Tateh was standing right next to me, so I grabbed a rag and started wiping the counter, edging close to them, eavesdropping.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
