gossip
Americannoun
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gossip
plural
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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
-
light, familiar talk or writing.
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Also gossiper, gossipper. a person given to tattling or idle talk.
- Synonyms:
- rumormonger, chatterer
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Chiefly British Dialect. a godparent.
-
Archaic. a friend, especially a woman.
verb (used without object)
-
gossips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gossiped,
past participle, past
-
gossipped,
past participle, past
-
gossiping,
present participle
-
gossipping
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
gossips,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gossiped,
past participle, past
-
gossipped,
past participle, past
-
gossiping,
present participle
-
gossipping
present participle
-
Chiefly British Dialect. to stand godparent to.
-
Archaic. to repeat like a gossip.
noun
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casual and idle chat
to have a gossip with a friend
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a conversation involving malicious chatter or rumours about other people
a gossip about the neighbours
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Also called: gossipmonger. a person who habitually talks about others, esp maliciously
-
light easy communication
to write a letter full of gossip
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archaic a close woman friend
verb
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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gossipernoun
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gossipingnoun
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intergossipverb
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gossipyadjective
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ungossipingadjective
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gossipinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gossipsimple
-
gossipssimple
-
have gossipedperfect
-
have gossippedperfect
-
has gossipedperfect
-
has gossippedperfect
-
am gossipingprogressive
-
am gossippingprogressive
-
are gossipingprogressive
-
are gossippingprogressive
-
is gossipingprogressive
-
is gossippingprogressive
-
have been gossipingperfect progressive
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have been gossippingperfect progressive
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has been gossipingperfect progressive
-
has been gossippingperfect progressive
Past
-
gossipedsimple
-
gossippedsimple
-
had gossipedperfect
-
had gossippedperfect
-
was gossipingprogressive
-
was gossippingprogressive
-
were gossipingprogressive
-
were gossippingprogressive
-
had been gossipingperfect progressive
-
had been gossippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gossip
First recorded before 1050; Middle English gossib, godsib(be), Old English godsibb, originally “godparent,” equivalent to god + sibb “related”; see origin at god, sib
Explanation
Gossip is conversation that's light, informal, and usually about other people's business. It can be fun to gossip about others, but no one likes it when they're the subject of gossip. You can find people just about anywhere who love to chatter about the latest rumors and stories: they're gossips who love to gossip. You've probably seen all the celebrity gossip featured in the tabloids: stories about who's dating, marrying, divorcing, or having a baby. But don't trust everything you hear — gossip isn't always accurate, and often people spread untrue gossip just to mess with someone they don't like.
Vocabulary lists containing gossip
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 2
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Simply Scandalous!
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Sula
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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.
See Examples For:
As Dobbins put it, the event was recapped on both celebrity gossip site “DeuxMoi and LinkedIn.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The pseudonym Perez Hilton is a reference to Paris Hilton who was at the height of her fame when the celebrity gossip blog was launched in 2005.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
This piece of gossip soon begins to cloud Elliot’s life and better judgement.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
But there is little in the public record to document this, other than items in the gossip pages about their golf bouts.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
The apartment was alive, the sounds of gossip coming from the kitchen as his mother and Eugenia hit it off.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Capitol Hill gossips, including journalists from whom one might have hoped to hear something before now, evidently knew about Mr. Swalwell’s behavior for years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
Tisa’s reenactments, commentary, and energy earned her a comment from a viewer who dubbed her “the new and improved Wendy Williams,” signaling a changing future for even legacy gossips and talk show hosts.
From Slate ● Jun. 10, 2025
Williams has long understood why people love gossip and equally adore and abhor gossips: they cause controversy, and sometimes force a public, corrective response.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
Rosenblum snaps back to the beginning of the summer, where she lays out her rogues’ gallery of gossips, hypocrites, cheaters.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
She’s the one person in town who never gossips or says bad things about people.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
As attendees roamed the corridors of the suburban Dallas resort and gossiped over drinks in the faux-adobe sports bar, there was no sense of a coming contest.
From Slate ● Apr. 17, 2026
Because the home has been staged, buyers won’t be able to sit at the very kitchen table where the Kardashian clan gossiped over salads, or the poolside lounges where they often sunned themselves.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026
Busy markets sold butchered meats and fast-wilting vegetables, horse carts clattered, children shouted, and men and women gossiped in coffeehouses and read from printed newspapers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
During his childhood, Almodóvar sometimes sat and listened under the kitchen table while his mother and other women gossiped and shared secrets, Moore says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2024
The thirteen-year age difference between Maggie and Elisha was normal for a courting couple of their time, but Philadelphia society gossiped due to their class difference.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
M.P.’s gossipped in the lobby—or dined—or smoked—or drank brandy-and-water—in short, did anything but listen to Mr. Wilson; and yet this was a grave, serious government measure.
From Here and There in London by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
On the way they gossipped, and the maid expressed a belief that Mr. Lane was a fine young gentleman, but full of his goings-on.
From The Folly Of Eustace 1896 by Robert Smythe Hichens
If I succeed in my object I shall consider that I have gossipped to some purpose.
From Flowers and Flower-Gardens With an Appendix of Practical Instructions and Useful Information Respecting the Anglo-Indian Flower-Garden by David Lester Richardson
In the kitchen the servants of the farm and house gossipped long and bickered vigorously.
From A Son of Hagar A Romance of Our Time by Sir Hall Caine
The hum of several thousand voices, as the gathered people gossipped about the image, made quite a volume of sound.
From The Mark of the Beast by Sidney Watson
“It’s like, ‘We don’t want to hear from you when we’re gossiping about you,’” said social media consultant Rachel Karten, author of the Link in Bio newsletter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
I felt like he was gossiping about me to a lot of people, and during one review, it became clear that he was.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 28, 2026
“You hear people gossiping in the locker room, or you hear about cool art shows that are happening or dance parties,” says Hansen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
"Avoid gossiping and talking about your friend or about their partner to others who could whip up hysteria," Shaheen-Zaffar tells the BBC.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
Laila suspected that some, if not most, of the neighbors were already gossiping about her and Tariq.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Robinson and Frances Glandney, who married in 2002, were part of a group of longtime pals and she knew they’d start gossipping about her and the legendary singer-songwriter.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
Mr Jones, his curate, has confirmed this statement, although the gossipping and heartless tone of his letters about such a man cannot be too strongly condemned.
From Young's Night Thoughts With Life, Critical Dissertation and Explanatory Notes by Edward Young
A kiss, at a dance, was all they could say in their gossipping, but he had kissed Annette, and she was by no means the flower of his heart.
From The Ice-Maiden: and Other Tales. by Fanny Fuller
Can all the talking and the gossipping in the world, make us one jot more happy or one jot more wretched?
From L'Arrabiata and Other Tales by Paul Heyse
"It is true," says Baillet, "that this Puteanus passed for a gossipping sort of writer, and for a great maker of little books, but he was, notwithstanding, a very clever fellow."
From Bibliomania; or Book-Madness A Bibliographical Romance by Thomas Frognall Dibdin
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.
