eavesdrop
eavesdrop Lexical Profile
eavesdrop Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To secretly listen to the private conversation or communications of others without their knowledge or consent.
"He stood near the half-open doorway to eavesdrop on the board members' discussion."
• noun
The water that falls in drops from the eaves of a house, or the narrow strip of ground beneath the eaves onto which such water drips (now primarily historical).
"In medieval English property law, builders had to leave sufficient space for the eavesdrop so rainwater would not damage a neighbor's wall."
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the early 17th century as a back-formation from "eavesdropper," originally referring to a person who stood within the "eavesdrop"—the ground beneath the overhanging edge of a roof where rainwater drips—in order to secretly overhear conversations inside a house.