gossip
idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others: the endless gossip about Hollywood stars.
light, familiar talk or writing.
Also gos·sip·er, gos·sip·per. a person given to tattling or idle talk.
Chiefly British Dialect. a godparent.
Archaic. a friend, especially a woman.
to talk idly, especially about the affairs of others; go about tattling.
Chiefly British Dialect. to stand godparent to.
Archaic. to repeat like a gossip.
Origin of gossip
1synonym study For gossip
Other words for gossip
| 1 | small talk, hearsay, palaver, chitchat |
| 3 | chatterer, talker, gabbler, rumormonger |
| 6 | chatter, prattle, prate, palaver |
Other words from gossip
- gos·sip·ing·ly, adverb
- in·ter·gos·sip, verb, in·ter·gos·siped or in·ter·gos·sipped, in·ter·gos·sip·ing.
- un·gos·sip·ing, adjective
Words Nearby gossip
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use gossip in a sentence
The dining room, once an outlet for gossip and intrigue, was shuttered and the theater room padlocked.
“We Don’t Even Know Who Is Dead or Alive”: Trapped Inside an Assisted Living Facility During the Pandemic | by Ava Kofman | November 30, 2020 | ProPublicaQuick chats, catching up over coffee, hallway gossip, late-night laughs with loved ones can be the best gifts of life.
Better conversations: The 7 essential elements of meaningful communication | matthewheimer | November 24, 2020 | FortuneThere’s still a little spark of gossip here, names dropped, and stories propped up and left on the roadside for embarrassment or for examination.
Bartenders still hear the world, and while that resonance would normally include a mixture of hearsay, local gossip and drowsy one-liners, it has now become a storm of collective struggle.
Farewell to the gossip dispensed at the break room coffee machine.
Water cooler moments don’t have to disappear in the virtual workplace | Nicolás Rivero | August 12, 2020 | Quartz
However much we gossip about heterosexual couples with large age gaps, we at least refrain from calling them sex offenders.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic | Samantha Allen | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“Women go to the bathroom together and gossip, talk and argue all the time,” Vithi Cuc told The National.
Middle East Murder Mystery: Who Killed an American Teacher in Abu Dhabi? | Chris Allbritton | December 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSince I was toiling away at the time as a gossip columnist for The Washington Post, I immediately called him back.
Despite Crack and Graft, D.C. Loved ‘Hizzoner’ Marion Barry | Lloyd Grove | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd they sound like gulls, you know, when they sit and gossip in a bar together.
The mayor and Biasi are a popular topic of gossip in Matamoros.
He, with others, thinking the miss-sahib had gone to church, was smoking the hookah of gossip in a neighboring compound.
The Red Year | Louis TracyEach little family group had had its say and exchanged its domestic gossip earlier in the evening.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinHe returned to the hotel, and, eluding a gossip-seeking landlady, went up to his room.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeHe talked a good deal on various topics, a little politics, some city news and neighborhood gossip.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinIn spite of the character bestowed upon her by her old friend, Mrs. Barford dearly loved a bit of gossip.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
British Dictionary definitions for gossip
/ (ˈɡɒsɪp) /
casual and idle chat: to have a gossip with a friend
a conversation involving malicious chatter or rumours about other people: a gossip about the neighbours
Also called: gossipmonger a person who habitually talks about others, esp maliciously
light easy communication: to write a letter full of gossip
archaic a close woman friend
(intr often foll by about) to talk casually or maliciously (about other people)
Origin of gossip
1Derived forms of gossip
- gossiper, noun
- gossiping, noun, adjective
- gossipingly, adverb
- gossipy, adjective
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
Browse