eavesdrop
English
WOTD – 14 August 2009
Etymology
eaves + drop; the "listening" sense derives from the notion of the listener standing in the area denoted by the physical sense.
Pronunciation
Verb
eavesdrop (third-person singular simple present eavesdrops, present participle eavesdropping, simple past and past participle eavesdropped)
- (transitive, intransitive) To hear a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.
- I hope nobody was eavesdropping on our conversation last night, since it got so personal.
- (zoology) To listen for another organism's calls, so as to exploit them.
- 1993, David W. Nagorsen; Robert Mark Brigham; Royal British Columbia Museum, Bats of British Columbia, page 109:
- […] Eastern Red Bat will eavesdrop on the sonar calls of other red bats to locate potential insect prey.
- 2014, Ken Yasukawa, Animal Behavior: How and Why Animals Do the Things They Do:
- Frog-biting midges also depend on eavesdropping for reproduction, and one would predict similarly strong selection to evolve auditory adaptations for hearing and localizing calls of their hosts.
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Usage notes
To eavesdrop usually implies the listener is purposefully trying to hear the conversation of others. To overhear is more often accidental.
Synonyms
- (hear conversation one is not intended to hear): overhear
Derived terms
Translations
to hear a conversation one is not intended to hear
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Noun
eavesdrop (countable and uncountable, plural eavesdrops)
- The dripping of rain from the eaves of a house.
- The space around a house on which such water drips.
- (countable) A concealed aperture through which an occupant of a building can surreptitiously listen to people talking at an entrance to the building.
- (countable) The act of intentionally hearing a conversation not intended to be heard.
- Were you having a little eavesdrop on us last night?
Synonyms
Translations
dripping of rain from the eaves of a house
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space around a house on which such water drips
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Anagrams
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