gossip

[ gos-uhp ]

/ ˈgɒs əp /

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See synonyms for: gossip / gossiped / gossiping on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

verb (used without object), gos·siped or gos·sipped, gos·sip·ing or gos·sip·ping.

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

verb (used with object), gos·siped or gos·sipped, gos·sip·ing or gos·sip·ping.

Chiefly British Dialect. to stand godparent to.

Archaic. to repeat like a gossip.

OTHER WORDS FOR gossip

1 small talk, hearsay, palaver, chitchat.

3 chatterer, talker, gabbler, rumormonger.

6 chatter, prattle, prate, palaver.

See synonyms for gossip on Thesaurus.com

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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

synonym study for gossip

1. 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 WORDS FROM gossip

gos·sip·ing·ly, adverbin·ter·gos·sip, verb, in·ter·gos·siped or in·ter·gos·sipped, in·ter·gos·sip·ing.un·gos·sip·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gossip in a sentence

Every new report veered the vane on this old gossiper's steeple, and he went on believing one day and disbelieving the next.
Christopher Columbus and How He Received and Imparted the Spirit of Discovery|Justin Winsor
The meal did not last long, for the aunt, who was a gossiper, was only serving delicatessen that evening.
Nobody's Boy|Hector Malot
Nothing worse can happen to the couple than to be discovered by this gossiper.
The Complete Opera Book|Gustav Kobb
But in place of that he is only a gossiper, writing merely for the entertainment of a private circle.
Life of Adam Smith|John Rae

The garrulous chroniclers, and saintly Bede himself, that primeval gossiper, afford abundant evidence of such secret revelations.
Amenities of Literature|Isaac Disraeli

British Dictionary definitions for gossip

gossip¹

/ (ˈɡɒsɪp) /

noun

casual and idle chatto have a gossip with a friend

a conversation involving malicious chatter or rumours about other peoplea gossip about the neighbours

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

light easy communicationto write a letter full of gossip

archaic a close woman friend

verb -sips, -siping or -siped

(intr often foll by about) to talk casually or maliciously (about other people)

Derived forms of gossip

gossiper, noungossiping, noun, adjectivegossipingly, adverbgossipy, adjective

Word Origin for gossip

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

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