overhear

[oh-ver-heer]

verb (used with object)

overheard, overhearing 

1. to hear (speech or a speaker) without the speaker's intention or knowledge.

   I accidentally overheard what they were saying.

overhear

/ ˌəʊvəˈhɪə /

verb

1. (tr) to hear (a person, remark, etc) without the knowledge of the speaker

Other Word Forms

• overhearer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overhear¹

First recorded in 1540–50; over- + hear

Example Sentences

On 8 November, she "overheard some boys talking that Kai had been arrested and that was the first I heard".

Read more on BBC

About a week into the trial Richards, while in the jury room, was overheard by an usher telling other jurors about joint enterprise murder.

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Further along the footpath around the old dock, I overhear an American accent.

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The new tension is there in just a few whispers, as when Hedda overhears a guest murmur that their hostess is “duskier than I thought she would be.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In fact, conspirators were overheard on a wiretap saying they “wouldn’t trust Joe” to agree to their scheme.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• accept 
• admit 
• attend 
• get 
• observe 
• take notice www.thesaurus.com
• tune in