Definition of COVETING

Other Words from covet

covetable \ ˈkə-və-tə-bəl

\ adjective

coveter \ ˈkə-və-tər

\ noun

covetingly \ ˈkə-və-tiŋ-lē

\ adverb

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

That extravagant spending has made overseas Chinese visitors highly coveted by U.S. businesses, particularly luxury retailers, which are now getting hurt by the slowdown in travel. — Sarah Min, CBS News, "China travel warning spells trouble for U.S. luxury retailers," 4 June 2019 The declaration puts the onus on Chevron to raise its price or walk away from its deal for Anadarko, whose acreage in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico is coveted by both potential buyers as a path to further expansion. ... — Cara Lombardo, WSJ, "Anadarko to Resume Talks With Occidental on Buyout Bid," 29 Apr. 2019 The sneakers, coveted by Nike collectors, are valued at $20,000. — Detroit Free Press, "Rare Eminem Nike Air Jordan shoes up for auction," 15 June 2018 Thunder star Russell Westbrook, another L.A. native coveted by Lakers fans, then signed a $205 million extension to stay in Oklahoma City. — Tania Ganguli, latimes.com, "With Kawhi Leonard possibly leaving Spurs, Lakers and Clippers are preferred destinations," 15 June 2018 While at first one can only let their jaw hit the floor and simply covet the face, the body, and the confidence that Ratajkowski exudes, this look (at second glance) is an ode to the queen of Camp herself, Cher. — Carrie Goldberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "Emily Ratajkowski Channels Cher in a Naked Dress at the Met Gala," 7 May 2019 Lomachenko’s next fight was supposed to be a title unification bout with Ghana’s Richard Commey, who holds one of the two remaining lightweight belts that Lomachenko covets. — Greg Beacham, The Seattle Times, "Lomachenko goes Hollywood for title clash with Crolla," 11 Apr. 2019 Traditional media companies are now competing for ad dollars with digital media giants such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc., which use targeted ads to reach specific groups of consumers that advertisers covet. — Alexandra Bruell, WSJ, "NBCU Wades Into E-Commerce, Enlisting Bill Murray as Pitchman," 28 Mar. 2019 Other than the Big Ten rights, this package might be the most coveted of the next round of deals. — Andy Staples, SI.com, "Why WWE's Network TV Deal Could Signal a Way Forward for College Football," 24 May 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.