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.
Contemporary Examples
Theirs is a delicious conversation—academic, intimate, professional—on which to eavesdrop.
Prada and Schiaparelli Exhibit Opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Robin Givhan May 6, 2012
A brilliant look into the lives of the 1980s East German Stasi (Secret Police) and the civilians they spy and eavesdrop on.
Shawn Ryan’s Favorite War Movies Shawn Ryan September 25, 2012
But the FSB has far more power to eavesdrop on Russian and foreign citizens than the FBI or the NSA.
Sorry, Snowden: Putin Lied to You About His Surveillance State—And Made You a Pawn of It Eli Lake April 17, 2014
NCIS managed to eavesdrop on phone calls Wright made to his mother, Valerie Burgess.
The Navy ‘Hero’ Who Pimped an HIV-Positive Teen M.L. Nestel December 10, 2014
Though I really wanted to eavesdrop on what went on between the takes with you and Rita and Mary Kay and Meryl.
Ali Wentworth Gets Complicated Kevin Sessums December 21, 2009
Historical Examples
I had promised not to spy nor eavesdrop, but that did not prohibit escape.
Heralds of Empire Agnes C. Laut
So I judged I’d got to do the other thing—lay for them and eavesdrop.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Complete Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
I don’t say I actually hurried away, but I wasn’t going to eavesdrop.
The Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge Margaret Vandercook
“You’d think there were better things to eavesdrop on than fishes,” said Urson.
The Jewels of Aptor Samuel R. Delany
And some fish make noises and the fishermen use these ears to eavesdrop on them and catch them.
Creatures of the Abyss Murray Leinster
verb -drops, -dropping, -dropped
(intransitive) to listen secretly to the private conversation of others
v.
c.1600, probably a back-formation from eavesdropper. Related: Eavesdropping.
Read Also:
- Anti-ecclesiastical
of or relating to the church or the clergy; churchly; clerical; not secular. Contemporary Examples Literary history aside (or be damned), these anti-establishment, anti-ecclesiastical fabliaux are pure, unadulterated fun. Read This and Blush: Naughty Medieval French Tales Yunte Huang June 12, 2013 Historical Examples Wolsey fell when Campeggio was recalled, and his fall involved the […]
- Economic
pertaining to the production, distribution, and use of income, wealth, and commodities. of or relating to the science of . pertaining to an , or system of organization or operation, especially of the process of production. involving or pertaining to one’s personal resources of money: to give up a large house for economic reasons. pertaining […]
- Anti-education
the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life. the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills, as for a profession. a degree, level, or kind of schooling: a university education. the […]
- Anti-egalitarian
asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, especially in political, economic, or social life. a person who adheres to egalitarian beliefs. adjective of, relating to, or upholding the doctrine of the equality of mankind and the desirability of political, social, and economic equality noun an adherent of egalitarian principles […]
- Anti-elitist
(of a person or class of persons) considered superior by others or by themselves, as in intellect, talent, power, wealth, or position in society: elitist country clubbers who have theirs and don’t care about anybody else. catering to or associated with an elitist class, its ideologies, or its institutions: Even at such a small, private […]