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

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 formseaves·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 Formseavesdropper, 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

Word Origin and History for eavesdropping

eavesdrop

c.1600, probably a back-formation from eavesdropper. Related: Eavesdropping.

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

Examples from the Web for eavesdropping

eavesdrop

verb -drops, -dropping or -dropped

Word Origin for eavesdrop

eavesdrop