gossip

1 of 2

noun

gos·sip ˈgä-səp

Synonyms of gossip next

dialectal British : godparent

: companion, crony

: a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others

the worst gossip in town

: rumor or report of an intimate nature

spreading gossip about their divorce

: a chatty talk

: the subject matter of gossip

Their breakup was common gossip.

gossipry

ˈgä-sə-prē

noun

gossip

2 of 2

verb

gossiped; gossiping; gossips

intransitive verb

: to relate gossip (see gossip entry 1 sense 2a)

gossiper noun

Did you know?

Old English sibb, meaning “relative” or “kinsman,” came from the adjective sibb, “related by blood” (the ancestor of modern English sibling). Old English godsibb was a person spiritually related to another, specifically by being a sponsor at baptism. Today we call such a person a godparent. Over the centuries, godsibb changed both in form and in meaning. Middle English gossib came to be used for a close friend or crony as well as for a godparent. From there it was only a short step to the gossip of today, a person no longer necessarily friend, relative, or sponsor, but someone filled with irresistible tidbits of rumor.

Examples of gossip in a Sentence

Noun He had been spreading gossip about his coworkers. the latest news and gossip from the entertainment industry She writes a gossip column in the paper. I like having a good gossip now and then. Verb They spent the afternoon gossiping on the phone. They often gossip with each other about their neighbors. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Estee Laundry, a gossip account on Instagram focused on the beauty industry with more than 200,000 followers, also posted about the report. —

Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 20 Nov. 2023 Special occasion celebrations, significant-other intros, gossip fests and clear-the-air chit-chats, usually take place at a dining hotspot with tons of aesthetic appeal and customers milling in the background, many in or around West Hollywood, home to the headquarters of the Oppenheim Group. —

Michelle Duncan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Nov. 2023 Wherever the meteoric pair went, crowds followed and gossip spread. —

Anne Higonnet, Vogue, 17 Nov. 2023 Beate, though, was a major-league gossip who seemed to keep tabs on every occurrence in town. —

Lucy Sante, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2023 That’s all just gossip from Harriet and Roger, and these are perfectly nice people. —

David Marchese David Marchese Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2023 If previous seasons are anything to go by, there will be plenty of partner swapping, drama, gossip, and of course...love, to satisfy all our reality TV needs. —

Keryn Donnelly, refinery29.com, 24 Oct. 2023 The outing came amid gossip about the heir to the Danish throne. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 8 Nov. 2023 Another scene, set closer to the present, finds the narrator walking into a restaurant in Manhattan’s Koreatown to trade New York publishing gossip with a group of old friends all the while downing bowls of makgeolli, bottles of soju, and piles of pajeon and jjajangmyeon. —

Sonia Chopra, Bon Appétit, 18 Oct. 2023

Verb

Donkeys hauling carts plodded along dusty streets, and schoolgirls in headscarves and long, old-fashioned coats huddled to gossip. —

Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2023 And while the seventh house rules open enemies, the twelfth house rules secret enemies (think: people who might gossip about you behind your back). —

Narayana Montúfar, Women's Health, 14 Aug. 2023 No matter how satisfying the idea of revenge may seem in the moment, two wrongs don’t make a right: There’s little long-term benefit in publicly bashing them online, say, or gossiping about them with mutual acquaintances, research suggests. —

Jenna Ryu, SELF, 10 July 2023 However, no one actually sat down until 10 pm, instead opting to mill around outside and take in unseasonably warm weather upon Rue Saint André des Arts or indulge in some Paris Fashion Week gossiping amid the moody red-floral wallpaper and dark wood paneling inside. —

Elise Taylor, Vogue, 3 Oct. 2023 Ola simply gawked as Frankie continued, voice low as if gossiping. —

Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 30 Sep. 2023 One recent summer evening, a crowd of women gathered to wait for the water, gossiping and jostling for their place in line. —

Anant Gupta, Washington Post, 22 Sep. 2023 In Bridgerton, the park is meant to represent a park in London where all of the ton spend their afternoons promenading, boating, picnicking, and of course, gossiping. —

Rachel Silva, ELLE Decor, 8 Sep. 2023 The investors would spend most of the brief trip in their suites gossiping, or wandering around the island in the rain, waiting for something to happen. —

Yepoka Yeebo, Town & Country, 2 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gossip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.