eavesdrop

[ eevz-drop ]

/ ˈivzˌdrɒp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR eavesdrop ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), eaves·dropped, eaves·drop·ping.

to listen secretly to a private conversation.

verb (used with object), eaves·dropped, eaves·drop·ping.

Archaic. to eavesdrop on.

noun Also eaves·drip [eevz-drip] /ˈivzˌdrɪp/.

water that drips from the eaves.

the ground on which such water falls.

Nearby words

eau minérale, eave, eave spout, eave trough, eaves, eavesdrop, eavestrough, eb, eb virus, eban, eban, abba

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

Related forms

eaves·drop·per, nounan·ti·eaves·drop·ping, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for eavesdropping

A few years ago, I was standing in a queue behind two men and eavesdropping on their conversation.
Will Jargon Be the Death of the English Language?|The Telegraph|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The intelligence community knows this, he said, from insights gleaned from eavesdropping on the night of the attack.
Yes, There IS Evidence Linking al Qaeda to Benghazi|Eli Lake|December 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
From eavesdropping to exceptionalism, the filmmaker explains why America is a sick country.
Oliver Stone on the Tyranny of Obama’s ‘Exceptional’ America|Andrew Romano|October 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When Cal overhears his father plotting, he feels like Jim Hawkins eavesdropping on John Silver and the pirates planning mutiny.
Must Read Novels: Ballard, Dybek, and Krasznahorkai|Jacob Silverman, Malcolm Forbes, John McIntyre|April 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The interview was so toothless, it felt more like eavesdropping on two patrons having lunch at the Sizzler.
Rosie O’Donnell’s Disastrous Oprah Winfrey Network Experience|Ramin Setoodeh|March 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Van Dyck came out of the palm clump where Barclay's hammock was swung—and found me eavesdropping.
Pirates' Hope|Francis Lynde
The whole country studied Brown's letters with the rapture of eavesdropping.
In a Little Town|Rupert Hughes
It has a conscious air, and so has the shawl, as if they had been eavesdropping and had understood everything we were saying.
A Counterfeit Presentment and The Parlour Car|William Dean Howells
I was not eavesdropping this time—I was merely letting Mackie do my eavesdropping for me.
In Accordance with the Evidence|Oliver Onions
Orson and Tudie forgot their own quarrel in the supernal rapture of eavesdropping somebody's else wrangle.
In a Little Town|Rupert Hughes

British Dictionary definitions for eavesdropping

eavesdrop

/ (ˈiːvzˌdrɒp) /

verb -drops, -dropping or -dropped

(intr) to listen secretly to the private conversation of others

Derived Forms

eavesdropper, noun

Word Origin for eavesdrop

C17: back formation from earlier evesdropper, from Old English yfesdrype water dripping from the eaves; see eaves, drop; compare Old Norse upsardropi

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

eavesdrop

verb (used without object), eaves·dropped, eaves·drop·ping.

verb (used with object), eaves·dropped, eaves·drop·ping.

noun Also eaves·drip [eevz-drip] /ˈivzˌdrɪp/.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of eavesdrop

Related forms

Examples from the Web for eavesdropping

British Dictionary definitions for eavesdropping

eavesdrop

verb -drops, -dropping or -dropped

Derived Forms

Word Origin for eavesdrop