as in hearing
to listen to (another in private conversation)
it's not polite to try to overhear intimate friends sharing confidences
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Recent Examples of overhearing
When repeating the tests with dogs that weren't considered GWLs however, the team did not find any significant correlation between overhearing and learning, a finding of significance according to Dror.
—
New Atlas, 9 Jan. 2026
Toddlers can pick up new words just by overhearing conversations.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
As when just standing in the Mingus Quick Stop parking lot and squinting down the street at lifting dust while overhearing from within the most mysterious conversation about missing Little Debbie Honey Buns—not stolen, gradually pilfered, but just missing.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
While the first half of this conversation points to the former, the next part, in which Shane asks if Ilya’s father is okay after overhearing a tense phone call, suggests the latter.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
There are still moments that break me open—watching friends’ moms swoop in to babysit, or overhearing them swap stories about how their moms saved them in those blurry newborn weeks.
—Lauren Boswell, Vogue, 25 Nov. 2025
Flight tracking website FlightAware showed there were 125 flight cancellations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but neither Perez nor Cordova could recall seeing or overhearing any passenger complaints.
—Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
The celebratory July 4 meal would certainly have kept the innkeeper, Daniel Smith, busy replenishing the finest bottles of Madeira from behind the locked bar—perhaps overhearing snippets of chatter among the delegates.
—Victoria Flexner, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly about reuniting with Home Improvement costar Tim Allen, 72, on Shifting Gears, Dunning recalled overhearing Allen entertaining the idea of bringing Pamela Anderson back to the series in some capacity.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
New Atlas, 9 Jan. 2026
Toddlers can pick up new words just by overhearing conversations.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 8 Jan. 2026
As when just standing in the Mingus Quick Stop parking lot and squinting down the street at lifting dust while overhearing from within the most mysterious conversation about missing Little Debbie Honey Buns—not stolen, gradually pilfered, but just missing.
—David Searcy, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
While the first half of this conversation points to the former, the next part, in which Shane asks if Ilya’s father is okay after overhearing a tense phone call, suggests the latter.
—Tom Smyth, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2025
There are still moments that break me open—watching friends’ moms swoop in to babysit, or overhearing them swap stories about how their moms saved them in those blurry newborn weeks.
—Lauren Boswell, Vogue, 25 Nov. 2025
Flight tracking website FlightAware showed there were 125 flight cancellations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but neither Perez nor Cordova could recall seeing or overhearing any passenger complaints.
—Cathie Anderson, Sacbee.com, 8 Nov. 2025
The celebratory July 4 meal would certainly have kept the innkeeper, Daniel Smith, busy replenishing the finest bottles of Madeira from behind the locked bar—perhaps overhearing snippets of chatter among the delegates.
—Victoria Flexner, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly about reuniting with Home Improvement costar Tim Allen, 72, on Shifting Gears, Dunning recalled overhearing Allen entertaining the idea of bringing Pamela Anderson back to the series in some capacity.
—Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overhearing
Verb
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Svalinn hires trainers from many different backgrounds — even prioritizing candidates without dog-training experience — so the dogs get used to hearing commands from a variety of voices, says Greene.—
Megan Sauer
Tasia Jensen,
CNBC,
14 Jan. 2026
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Upon hearing the sentence request, the 65-year-old Yoon smiled inscrutably from his dock in court, while the gallery reportedly erupted with jeers from his supporters.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Various others have been executed in Iran in recent years before the June conflict on allegations of spying for the Mossad, including multiple earlier this year.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
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The soaring golden orbs may have fooled my eager spying eyes a few times.—
Zoe Baillargeon,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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This type of system could be useful for monitoring transplant patients who need to take immunosuppressive drugs, or people with infections such as HIV or TB, who need treatment for an extended period of time.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
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Officers were in the area monitoring the situation and later cleared the scene.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Thornton, a vice president of strategic communications who has worked downtown for 17 years, including a decade with AIMCLEAR, was no stranger to snooping on behalf of his colleagues and his employer.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
5 Dec. 2025
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But snooping signals a lack of trust.—
Dr. Cortney Warren,
CNBC,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Overhearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overhearing. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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