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
  • Separately, Helena Maleno, founder of the migrant rights group Walking Borders, which monitors deaths and disappearances on migration routes to Spain, reported that 83 people had died on the voyage, including three women and a baby.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Penn State researchers developed a wearable sensor that continuously monitors low rates of perspiration for lactate, a biomarker that can indicate oxygen starvation in tissues.
    — Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 2 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
  • Deadline hears that organizers originally wanted CEO Neal Mohan, which would have been an exceptional booking.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Kumi hears the downstream version of that in her applications.
    — Jasmine Browley, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 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 5 Sep. 2026.

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