eavesdrop
to listen secretly to a private conversation.
Archaic. to eavesdrop on.
water that drips from the eaves.
the ground on which such water falls.
Origin of eavesdrop
1Other words from eavesdrop
- eavesdropper, noun
- an·ti·eaves·drop·ping, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use eavesdrop in a sentence
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 | THE DAILY BEASTHe lambasted the NSA for its over-zealous data grabs, and its unrestrained eavesdropping on average Americans.
Think spy satellites, stealth bombers, next-missile-spotting radars, next-gen drones, and ultra-powerful eavesdropping gear.
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 | THE DAILY BEASTBut Schiff also said sometimes eavesdropping has its limits as well.
Yes, There IS Evidence Linking al Qaeda to Benghazi | Eli Lake | December 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
I thought she had come to her right senses, at last, and was making the shift to break off the eavesdropping.
The Wreckers | Francis LyndeHe persists, then sees his mother in private, kills a courtier who was eavesdropping, and convicts his mother of her sin.
Tolstoy on Shakespeare | Leo TolstoyRelieved, yet ashamed of his eavesdropping, he ran down the road toward his home.
Patchwork | Anna Balmer MyersPaul had heard of people who actually deemed eavesdropping unbecoming!
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. II (of II) | Charles James LeverIt was secure from any but forcible entrance, and eavesdropping from outside would be worse than useless.
Shadow, the Mysterious Detective | Police Captain Howard
British Dictionary definitions for eavesdrop
/ (ˈiːvzˌdrɒp) /
(intr) to listen secretly to the private conversation of others
Origin of eavesdrop
1Derived forms of eavesdrop
- eavesdropper, noun
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
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