Eavesdrop

Quick meaning: Eavesdrop is a verb meaning (ambitransitive) To hear (intentionally) a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.

Meaning

(ambitransitive) To hear (intentionally) a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.

More Meanings

1. (zoology) To listen for another organism's calls, so as to exploit them.
2. The dripping of rain from the eaves of a house.
3. The space around a house on which such water drips.
4. (countable) The act of intentionally hearing a conversation not intended to be heard.
5. (countable) A concealed aperture through which an occupant of a building can surreptitiously listen to people talking at an entrance to the building.

Example Sentences

Were you having a little eavesdrop on us last night?

I hope nobody was eavesdropping on our conversation last night, since it got so personal.

[…] Eastern Red Bat will eavesdrop on the sonar calls of other red bats to locate potential insect prey.

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.

Word Forms

• eavesdrops
• eavesdropping
• eavesdropped

Synonyms for eavesdrop

Depending on context, synonyms include eavesdrip.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include eavesread, sneak, infiltrate, nose, espy, sniff.

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