coveted; coveting; covets
1
: to wish for earnestly
covet an award
2
: to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably
The king's brother coveted the throne.
: to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another
Examples of covet in a Sentence
The oldest of the students, she had become a confidante of Fern's and she alone was allowed to call her by her first name. It was not a privilege the others coveted.
—
Edward P. Jones, The Known World, 2003
The only Commandment I'd breached, besides killing that bird with my air rifle, was that I had coveted Bobby Entrekin's electric train. It blew real smoke. Mine didn't.
—Lewis Grizzard, Reader's Digest, January 1992
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
—Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
His religion warns against coveting material goods.
I've been coveting that sleek sports car in the showroom for some time now.
Edward P. Jones, The Known World, 2003
The only Commandment I'd breached, besides killing that bird with my air rifle, was that I had coveted Bobby Entrekin's electric train. It blew real smoke. Mine didn't.
—Lewis Grizzard, Reader's Digest, January 1992
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
—Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
His religion warns against coveting material goods.
I've been coveting that sleek sports car in the showroom for some time now.
Recent Examples on the Web
Certain to be coveted are the priority lift lanes at critical lifts (including Funitel, Red Dog, Gold Coast, Big Blue and more), promising minimal waits and maximum vertical for club members.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Gone are the days of coveting fancy hotels with ten pillow options but zero personality.
—Kristin Winkaffe, Travel + Leisure, 4 Dec. 2025
Darby was a key piece of LSU’s 2026 class — an in‑state, four‑star receiver with the length and production SEC programs covet.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
That freed up Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, a former Sunderland loanee who is now coveted by football’s elite and is both ambipedal and unbiased.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for covet
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David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Gone are the days of coveting fancy hotels with ten pillow options but zero personality.
—Kristin Winkaffe, Travel + Leisure, 4 Dec. 2025
Darby was a key piece of LSU’s 2026 class — an in‑state, four‑star receiver with the length and production SEC programs covet.
—Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025
That freed up Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, a former Sunderland loanee who is now coveted by football’s elite and is both ambipedal and unbiased.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for covet
Cite this Entry
“Covet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covet. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
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