overhearing

verb

present participle of overhear
as in hearing
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 overhearing Muraki admitted overhearing her comments about the home but denied handing a note during their first meeting. — Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026 The episode ends with Teddy getting a voicemail from Owen and overhearing a bridge collapse and car crash that may be fatal. — Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 1 May 2026 Another resident reported frequently overhearing arguing coming from the apartment. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 1 May 2026 The only real threat is a whistleblower, like an outcast kid overhearing the whole criminal scheme from the floor below his mother’s office. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2026 Haley began making the octopi after overhearing a nurse saying some would be helpful in the NICU. — ABC News, 26 Feb. 2026 The internal monologue is perhaps the more obvious choice for paranoid fiction, but by writing in dialogue, Dorfman puts us in the place of the listener with an ear pressed to a closed door, overhearing the anxious voices. — James Folta, Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026 Dogs also learned new object names by overhearing them. — Liz Regalia, Parents, 25 Jan. 2026 Hyman remembers overhearing a conversation between Stecher and then-Oilers assistant coach Paul Coffey as the trade deadline approached. — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overhearing
  1. hearing
  2. spying
  3. monitoring
  4. snooping
Verb
  • Handing the survivor her jewelry and hearing her story a few days later gave Dondi and her team of volunteers a reassuring nudge to push forward with their work.
    — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • During Murdaugh’s first status hearing on Monday, June 29, Judge Debra McCaslin did not rule on the DNA evidence, telling defense attorneys to clarify if the sample was viable.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of hearing
Verb
  • Beijing — An American scientist who has studied underground nuclear tests has been detained in China for more than 18 months on spying charges, according to his supporters and a US lawmaker.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
  • Their parents, Ethel and Julius, have been convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and sentenced to death.
    — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Definition of spying
Verb
  • Wilmington police say officers were monitoring a crowd when Skinner emerged from a house and pointed a gun at the group.
    — CBS News Philadelphia Staff, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents were monitoring a location linked to a deportation order when someone drove away, leading to the shooting.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 14 July 2026
Definition of monitoring
Verb
  • Cady had injected some narcotic into a Georgia peach to knock Natalie out ahead of his confrontation with Crystal on the houseboat, but Ray snooping around on the Bowdens’s behalf led to this deadly improvisation.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 10 July 2026
  • Her mother has become a fan but didn’t start out that way, unaware her high school had a soccer team until Garbowski went snooping in an old yearbook.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of snooping

Browse Nearby Words

overheard
overhearing
overhears
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Cite this Entry

“Overhearing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overhearing. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on overhearing

Nglish: Translation of overhearing for Spanish Speakers

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