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
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overhearing
Verb
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Safety glasses are a must, and hearing protection is essential when working with loud equipment.—
Daniel Scott,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Mar. 2026
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All Alawite children have had the experience of going to bed afraid after hearing horror stories of the violence under Ottoman rule.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But there is little doubt, officials and experts say, that spying efforts are intensifying as the world’s two dominant superpowers, the United States and China, battle for superiority across economic, technological, military and ideological fronts.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
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Arthur and Alysa were targeted at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in a spying operation that the US Justice Department alleges was ordered by the Chinese government.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The president was at Mar-a-Lago in Florida during the initial phase of the war, monitoring developments from his estate, and returned to the White House on Sunday evening.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
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Sophisticated risk-monitoring systems scan global flashpoints, allowing operations teams to model contingencies before closures actually happen.—
Francesca Street,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 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 7 Mar. 2026.
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