Definition of covet
transitive verb
1 : to wish for earnestly covet an award
2 : to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably The king's brother coveted the throne.
intransitive verb
: to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another
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Examples of covet in a Sentence
The oldest of the students, she had become a confidante of Fern's and she alone was allowed to call her by her first name. It was not a privilege the others coveted. —Edward P. Jones, The Known World, 2003
The only Commandment I'd breached, besides killing that bird with my air rifle, was that I had coveted Bobby Entrekin's electric train. It blew real smoke. Mine didn't. —Lewis Grizzard, Reader's Digest, January 1992
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. —Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
His religion warns against coveting material goods.
I've been coveting that sleek sports car in the showroom for some time now.
Recent Examples of covet from the Web
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Players such as Hosmer, Moustakas and Cain — proven talents with playoff experience — would likely be coveted by teams with needs at their respective positions.
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The glamorous Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, too, coveted the talismans and tokens of success.
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The way relief pitching is coveted these days, who wouldn’t want him?
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Last week, Fox News finished behind CNN and MSNBC in the 25-to-54 age group most coveted by advertisers for the first time since 2008.
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In Wharton’s day, this kind of life was coveted without being heralded as exactly virtuous.
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An endorsement from Becerra, who represented the district for more than 24 years before giving up the seat to become attorney general, is one of the most coveted in a crowded field of 23 candidates.
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An endorsement from Becerra, who represented the 34th District for more than 24 years before giving up the seat to become attorney general, is one of the most coveted in a crowded field of 23 candidates.
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Born wild in the icy waters of west Iceland, Wang wrote, he was first netted in 1983 — in an era when killer whales were coveted by marine parks and adored by crowds.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'covet'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of covet
Middle English coveiten, from Anglo-French coveiter, from Vulgar Latin *cupidietare, from Latin cupiditat-, cupiditas desire, from cupidus desirous, from cupere to desire
Synonym Discussion of covet
COVET Defined for English Language Learners
covet
playDefinition of covet for English Language Learners
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: to want (something that you do not have) very much
COVET Defined for Kids
covet
playDefinition of covet for Students
coveted
;coveting
: to wish for greatly or with envy I admit I covet success. It's wrong to covet a friend's happiness.
Learn More about covet
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See words that rhyme with covet Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for covet Spanish Central: Translation of covet Nglish: Translation of covet for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of covet for Arabic speakers
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