eavesdrops (on)

verb

present tense third-person singular of eavesdrop (on)
as in listens in (on)
to listen to (another in private conversation) a nosy traveler who likes to eavesdrop on his fellow airline passengers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for eavesdrops (on)
  1. monitors
  2. spies
  3. hears
Verb
  • Lake health advocates The project has support from many lake-health advocates, including the Lake County Lake Lovers, a grassroots organization that monitors and collects data on nearly two dozen lakes across the county.
    — Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Amazon said the drone cameras are used to navigate, and no one monitors a live feed.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of monitors
Verb
  • One morning at school, Frida spies bruises on Elia’s back and overhears her and Emmanuel talking about having been disciplined by their parents.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Late one night, Clark spies what appears to be a sliver of light coming through a crack in the wall of the store’s basement.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026
Definition of spies
Verb
  • Deadline hears that the BBC has held tentative discussions about whether Sounds could be folded in with iPlayer to create a single streaming service for video and audio, not unlike Netflix and YouTube.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Her 7-year-old hears the conversations around her, sees the protests in her community and notices the visiting canal personnel.
    — Hira Humayun, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of hears
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

eavesdropping (on)
eavesdrops (on)
eaves trough
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Cite this Entry

“Eavesdrops (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/eavesdrops%20%28on%29. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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