eavesdrop
verb /ˈiːvzdrɒp/
/ˈiːvzdrɑːp/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they eavesdrop | /ˈiːvzdrɒp/ /ˈiːvzdrɑːp/ |
| he / she / it eavesdrops | /ˈiːvzdrɒps/ /ˈiːvzdrɑːps/ |
| past simple eavesdropped | /ˈiːvzdrɒpt/ /ˈiːvzdrɑːpt/ |
| past participle eavesdropped | /ˈiːvzdrɒpt/ /ˈiːvzdrɑːpt/ |
| -ing form eavesdropping | /ˈiːvzdrɒpɪŋ/ /ˈiːvzdrɑːpɪŋ/ |
- eavesdrop (on somebody/something) to listen secretly to what other people are saying
- We caught him eavesdropping outside the window.
Word Originearly 17th cent.: back-formation from eavesdropper (late Middle English) ‘a person who listens from under the eaves’, from the obsolete noun eavesdrop ‘the ground on to which water drips from the eaves’, probably from Old Norse upsardropi, from ups ‘eaves’ + dropi ‘a drop’.