gossip

[gos-uhp]

noun

1. idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others.

   the endless gossip about Hollywood stars.

   Synonyms: chitchat, palaver, hearsay, small talk

2. light, familiar talk or writing.

3. Also gossiper, gossipper. a person given to tattling or idle talk.

   Synonyms: rumormonger, chatterer

4. Chiefly British Dialect.,  a godparent.

5. Archaic.,  a friend, especially a woman.

verb (used without object)

gossiped, gossipped, gossiping, gossipping. 

1. to talk idly, especially about the affairs of others; go about tattling.

   Synonyms: palaver, prate, prattle, chatter

verb (used with object)

gossiped, gossipped, gossiping, gossipping. 

1. Chiefly British Dialect.,  to stand godparent to.

2. Archaic.,  to repeat like a gossip.

gossip

/ ˈɡɒsɪp /

noun

1. casual and idle chat

   to have a gossip with a friend

2. a conversation involving malicious chatter or rumours about other people

   a gossip about the neighbours

3. Also called: gossipmonger. a person who habitually talks about others, esp maliciously

4. light easy communication

   to write a letter full of gossip

5. archaic,  a close woman friend

verb

1. to talk casually or maliciously (about other people)

Other Word Forms

• gossipingly adverb
• intergossip verb
• ungossiping adjective
• gossiping noun
• gossipy adjective
• gossiper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gossip¹

First recorded before 1050; Middle English gossib, godsib(be), Old English godsibb, originally “godparent,” equivalent to god + sibb “related”; god, sib

Word History and Origins

Origin of gossip¹

Old English godsibb godparent, from _god + _sib ; the term came to be applied to familiar friends, esp a woman's female friends at the birth of a child, hence a person, esp a woman, fond of light talk

Synonym Study

Gossip, scandal apply to idle talk and newsmongering about the affairs of others. Gossip is light chat or talk: to trade gossip about the neighbors. Scandal is rumor or general talk that is damaging to reputation; it is usually more or less malicious: The town never lived down the election scandal.

Example Sentences

While Patel’s travel has become a source of gossip within the bureau, his firings in particular have riled the broader workforce.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

People gossiped that Lynn and I were lovers, never mind we were both married with kids.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The friends at my kitchen counter landed on some delectable gossip—the kind nobody would dare utter at a public cafe, much less print in a national newspaper.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There may be an undercurrent of gossip, like the hints of discord between Affleck and Leavitt, but nothing that curdles our mood.

Read more on Salon

Southern humor is a little, you know, we always say we don’t gossip in the South, we have prayer requests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• buzz 
• chatter 
• chitchat 
• conversation 
• hearsay 
• news 
• scandal 
• slander 
• tale