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
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
Explanation
If you covet something, you eagerly desire something that someone else has. If it's 95 degrees out and humid, you may find yourself coveting your neighbor's air conditioner. If the word covet sounds familiar, you're thinking of the Tenth Commandment: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's." Basically this means you should be happy with your electronic gadgets and not be jealous when a friend gets something better.
Vocabulary lists containing covet
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Crucible
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Material World: Shopping Lingo
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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.
One invokes a kind of technological 11th commandment: "Covet not thy neighbour's wi-fi".
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2012
Covet shame, for honour is surely to follow.'
From By What Authority? by Benson, Robert Hugh
The 'Efreet, when he heard these words, answered by saying, Covet not life, for thy death is unavoidable.
From The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I. Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments by Anonymous
Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
From Sermons for the Times by Kingsley, Charles
Covet not that which GOD hath bestowed on some of you preferably to others.
From The Koran (Al-Qur'an) by Sale, George
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.
