Definition of overhearnext
as in to hear
to listen to (another in private conversation) it's not polite to try to overhear intimate friends sharing confidences

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of overhear The following morning, on the train back to London, people could be overheard complimenting the play and discussing its big revelations. Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 At one point, Piker overhears his brother telling me about his old job as an aerospace engineer at Boeing. Josh Eells, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2026 But despite getting back together in season two, the finale ended on a cliffhanger of Alex overhearing Jackie confess her love to his brother Cole. Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2026 Season 3 picks up after her boyfriend Alex Walter (Ashby Gentry) overhears Jackie and his brother Cole Walter (Noah LaLonde) confess their feelings for each other. Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for overhear
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overhear
Verb
  • Patterson wasn’t in court to hear the proceedings but listened to the arguments via a video link from a maximum-security prison.
    Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
  • After hearing four days of testimony, a Collin County jury found Anthony, 19, guilty of murder following three hours of deliberation on June 9.
    Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • There are methods to monitor workloads, whether by shortening starts or skipping them altogether.
    Chandler Rome, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • The government had checked a hundred and fifty thousand names against its files, actively monitoring immigrants and citizens alike, and deported at least seventy-eight people.
    Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Satellite imagery has already spied an area of rising seas expanding north from South and Central America to California’s Baja Peninsula, with a northward expansion expected from there.
    Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • He was arrested by the police and convicted of spying for a terror plot against the network.
    Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Overhear.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overhear. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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