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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
  • Yigal Carmon, a conservative retired colonel in Israeli military intelligence and the founder of MEMRI, a research center that monitors media across the Muslim world, had spent years insisting that Qatar was a sponsor of terrorism.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Ensuring your baby’s water temperature is always perfect is a breeze with the color-changing plug that monitors the temperature at all times.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of monitors
Verb
  • 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
  • In Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s The Finding of Moses, a dog spies a young girl whose presence unlocks the painting’s meaning.
    — Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Definition of spies
Verb
  • Tucked inside that ambivalence, Longwell hears an opportunity.
    — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Authored by Wall Street Journal reporter Robbie Whelan, THR hears that among the topics set to be covered will be Iger’s friendship-turned-rivalry with former Marvel chief Ike Perlmutter.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 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 26 Sep. 2026.

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