covet
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others.
to covet another's property.
- Antonyms:
- renounce
-
to wish for, especially eagerly.
He won the prize they all coveted.
verb (used without object)
verb
Related Words
See envy.
Other Word Forms
- covetable adjective
- coveter noun
- covetingly adverb
- uncoveting adjective
Etymology
Origin of covet
First recorded in 1325–1350; Middle English coveiten, from Anglo-French coveiter, Old French coveit(i)er, from unattested Vulgar Latin cupiditāre, verbal derivative of Latin cupiditās cupidity
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.
Trump administration officials covet the minerals; getting them won’t be easy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Someone who, perhaps, did not covet the presidency as much as he did.
From Slate • Oct. 10, 2025
The peaches my neighbors and I covet this time of year come from about three and a half hours north, in Chilton County — the peach capital of Alabama.
From Salon • Jul. 9, 2025
The rankings are popular — many campuses in the country covet the lists — and controversial.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2025
“It may be delayed but it cannot be defeated, and we covet for Tennessee the signal honor of being the thirty-sixth and last State necessary to consummate this great reform.”
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
