eavesdrop

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To hear (intentionally) a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.
To listen for another organism's calls, so as to exploit them.

noun

The dripping of rain from the eaves of a house.
The space around a house on which such water drips.
A concealed aperture through which an occupant of a building can surreptitiously listen to people talking at an entrance to the building.
The act of intentionally hearing a conversation not intended to be heard.

/ˈiːvzˌdɹɒp/ /ˈivzˌdɹɑp/ en-us-eavesdrop.ogg en-au-eavesdrop.ogg

eavesdrop eavesdrops eavesdropping eavesdropped

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

eavesdrip

monitor surveil tap wiretap

eavesdropper eavesread

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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