eavesdrop

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English

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Etymology

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From eaves +‎ drop; the "listening" sense derives from the notion of the listener standing in the area denoted by the physical sense.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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eavesdrop (third-person singular simple present eavesdrops, present participle eavesdropping, simple past and past participle eavesdropped)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) To hear (intentionally) 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.
  2. (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.

Usage notes

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To eavesdrop usually implies the listener is purposefully trying to hear the conversation of others. To overhear is more often accidental.

Hypernyms

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  • (hear conversation one is not intended to hear): overhear

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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Noun

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eavesdrop (countable and uncountable, plural eavesdrops)

  1. The dripping of rain from the eaves of a house.
  2. The space around a house on which such water drips.
  3. (countable) A concealed aperture through which an occupant of a building can surreptitiously listen to people talking at an entrance to the building.
  4. (countable) The act of intentionally hearing a conversation not intended to be heard.
    Were you having a little eavesdrop on us last night?

Synonyms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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