covet

verb cov·et \ ˈkə-vət \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: covet in a Sentence

Definition of covet

coveted; coveting; covets

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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covetable

play \ˈkə-və-tə-bəl\ adjective

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coveter

play \ˈkə-və-tər\ noun

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covetingly

play \ˈkə-və-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

See covet defined for English-language learners

See covet defined for kids

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

The regulator is involved because of Sky, the European pay-TV leader that is 39% owned by Fox, and coveted by both suitors.

— stephen wilmot, WSJ, "Why a U.K. Regulator May Set the Price for Fox," 2 July 2018
Advertising West Wing jobs is nearly unheard of, as the positions are typically highly coveted by those interested in developing a career in politics.

— natasha bach, Fortune, "'Interested in a Job at the White House?' The Trump Administration Looks to Fill Openings at Executive Branch Job Fair," 14 June 2018
Draft analyst Tony Pauline reports for DraftAnalyst.com that Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has been coveted by the 49ers, who hold the No.

— cleveland.com, "Will the Browns be on HBO's Hard Knocks? NFL Draft 2018 rumors," 25 Apr. 2018
That coveted home-court advantage that Portland had worked so hard to attain over 82 regular-season games was handed over in a few quick hours on Saturday.

— john canzano, OregonLive.com, "Canzano: Trail Blazers guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum go missing in Game 1 loss," 14 Apr. 2018
Stone makes — and wears — her own comfortable, technicolor sandals, flats, mules and booties, which are coveted by Brie Larson and others.

— kathryn romeyn, latimes.com, "Shoe designer Charlotte Stone opens Platform pop-up before stepping into new digs in downtown L.A.," 22 Mar. 2018
In Lukaku, Hazard and its midfield string-puller, Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium has three stars who would be coveted by any of its rivals.

— tariq panja, New York Times, "Belgium Displays Its Depth in a World Cup Rout of Tunisia," 1 Mar. 2018
Naturally, his designs have become highly coveted by design lovers around the world.

— lindsey desimone, ELLE Decor, "UPDATE: The Frank Lloyd Wright Chair Thief Could Get 20 Years In Prison," 25 Jan. 2016
The location, on 42 acres near Loop 202 and Higley Road, was coveted by both the Higley and Gilbert school districts.

— craig harris, azcentral, "Arizona charter school founder makes millions building his own schools," 11 July 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year