I. noun
1.
a person who habitually retails private, scandalous, or sensational and often inaccurate information
her life ruined by a vicious old gossip
Synonyms: carrytale, circulator, clack, gossiper, gossipmonger, ||long tongue, mumblenews, newsmonger, quidnunc, rumorer, rumormonger, scandalizer, scandalmonger, sieve, tabby, talebearer, telltale; compare busybody , informer
2.
Synonyms: report 1, buzz, cry, grapevine, hearsay, on-dit, rumble, rumor, scuttlebutt, talk
Related Word: account, chronicle, conversation, story, tale; babble, banter, chatter, prate
II. verb
to disclose something, often of questionable veracity, that is better kept to oneself
gossiped about his neighbor's business
Synonyms: blab, noise (about or abroad), rumor, talk, tattle
Related Word: babble, chat, chatter, prate, prattle; hint, imply, insinuate, intimate, suggest
Idioms: dish the dirt, spill the beans, tell idle tales, tell tales out of school