coveted; coveting; covets
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.
: to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another
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.
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 on the Web
China’s market, once coveted by foreign businesses for its wide consumer base and rising spending power, has changed in recent years with a slowing economy capping consumer demand and manufacturing overcapacity increasingly pushing domestic companies to look for opportunities abroad.
—Reuters, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
With its sleek structure and typically earthy tones, the model is comparable to Miu Miu’s coveted 530 collaborations, which retail for more than tenfold the 204L at $1,250.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 25 Feb. 2026
The fourth season debut beat other cable-news outlets among viewers between 25 and 54, the demographic coveted most by advertisers in news programs.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
Grown in just a sliver of the high altitudes of the Blue and John Crow Mountain ranges, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is highly coveted, offering a unique flavor experience that coffee fans can't miss.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2026
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Reuters, NBC news, 26 Feb. 2026
With its sleek structure and typically earthy tones, the model is comparable to Miu Miu’s coveted 530 collaborations, which retail for more than tenfold the 204L at $1,250.
—Riley Jones, Footwear News, 25 Feb. 2026
The fourth season debut beat other cable-news outlets among viewers between 25 and 54, the demographic coveted most by advertisers in news programs.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 24 Feb. 2026
Grown in just a sliver of the high altitudes of the Blue and John Crow Mountain ranges, Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is highly coveted, offering a unique flavor experience that coffee fans can't miss.
—Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for covet
Cite this Entry
“Covet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covet. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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