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
This won’t be an easy contract to move, but Palat would still be a valuable third-line contributor, not to mention that his championship pedigree and exceptional leadership could be coveted by younger teams with excess cap space to spend.
—Harman Dayal, New York Times, 21 June 2025
Long, lean and coveted by nearly every big-time college football program in the country, Mount Miguel High School senior Brandon Arrington has made his decision.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025
The Dodgers are about winning every year, not just the next year, so expect the new Lakers to covet the future as much as the present.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Has impressive plus wingspan, with the type of length and shooting stroke coveted by Heat.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for covet
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Harman Dayal, New York Times, 21 June 2025
Long, lean and coveted by nearly every big-time college football program in the country, Mount Miguel High School senior Brandon Arrington has made his decision.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 June 2025
The Dodgers are about winning every year, not just the next year, so expect the new Lakers to covet the future as much as the present.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
Has impressive plus wingspan, with the type of length and shooting stroke coveted by Heat.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 19 June 2025
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 Jul. 2025.
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