covet

verb

cov·​et ˈkə-vət 

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

covetable

ˈkə-və-tə-bəl 

adjective

coveter

ˈkə-və-tər 

noun

covetingly

ˈkə-və-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of covet

• crave
• want

Choose the Right Synonym for covet

desire, wish, want, crave, covet mean to have a longing for.

desire stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim.

desires to start a new life

wish sometimes implies a general or transient longing especially for the unattainable.

wishes for permanent world peace

want specifically suggests a felt need or lack.

wants to have a family

crave stresses the force of physical appetite or emotional need.

craves sweets

covet implies strong envious desire.

covets his rise to fame

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 on the Web

Throughout each collection, expect colorful stripes, vivid dots, and gingham, and limited-run, special pieces to covet. — Cortne Bonilla, Vogue, 5 Aug. 2026

Small-market teams like the Orioles covet surplus value, the amount by which players outperform their salaries. — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026

Just one year later, Major Matt Mason was no more, destined only to be coveted decades later as collectors items . — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Of course, the Pardo d’Oro, or Golden Leopard, the top prize at Locarno, and other Leopard awards will be coveted prey for filmmakers throughout the festival program. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English coveiten, from Anglo-French coveiter, from Vulgar Latin *cupidietare, from Latin cupiditat-, cupiditas desire, from cupidus desirous, from cupere to desire

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

covet

verb

cov·​et ˈkəv-ət 

: to wish for greatly or with envy

covet another's success

covet a friend's possessions

coveter

-ər 

noun

covetingly

-iŋ-lē 

adverb