covet

verb cov·et \ ˈkə-vət \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

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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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

Two days from now, a council at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, is set to approve recipients of the agency’s coveted Early Independence Awards (EIAs).

— meredith wadman, Science | AAAS, "Men disproportionately win NIH’s plum award for young scientists," 15 May 2018
That summer, with Harden eligible for a contract extension, the Thunder offered him four years, $55.5 million — $4.5 million less than the max deal Harden coveted.

— connor letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘War on the practice court’ shaped Kevin Durant, James Harden into MVPs," 12 May 2018
Pinterest users are currently coveting home items like llama bed sheets, llama throw pillows, and llama lamps.

— olivia harrison, refinery29.com, "Apparently, Llamas Are The New Unicorns," 10 May 2018
Today Tuff Gong is a merchandising brand and record label, highly coveted among reggae artists, which still boasts a full-service recording studio in Kingston, Jamaica.

— jeff slate, Esquire, "73 Reasons to Love Bob Marley on His 73rd Birthday," 6 Feb. 2018
The 2015 SculptureCenter commission — an installation featuring a giant, bare butt by Anthea Hamilton — was the centerpiece of an exhibition that led to Ms. Hamilton’s nomination for Britain’s coveted Turner Prize.

— farah nayeri, New York Times, "The Art on Her Walls Echoes Her Mission: Backing Bold Works by Women," 23 Jan. 2018
Certain buyers in Vietnam and China—the largest and second-largest black market destinations respectively—covet rhino horn products for different reasons.

— jeremy hsu, Scientific American, "The Hard Truth about the Rhino Horn “Aphrodisiac” Market," 5 Apr. 2017
Plant olive trees on land coveted by Jewish settlers.

— jeff stein, Newsweek, "The 'Palestinian Gandhi' Who Still Believes Non-Violence Is the Answer," 12 Aug. 2014
Featured on the most popular/coveted Chocolate Frog trading card of all time.

— cosmopolitan, Seventeen, "Movies & TV," 12 Feb. 2014

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