eaves ‧ drop /ˈiːvzdrɒp $ -drɑːp/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle eavesdropped , present participle eavesdropping ) [intransitive]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: eavesdropper 'someone who stands close to a wall, where rainwater drops from the eaves, in order to listen secretly' ]
to deliberately listen secretly to other people’s conversations ⇨ overhear :
There was Helena eavesdropping outside the door.
—eavesdropper noun [countable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ listen to pay attention to what someone is saying or to a sound that you hear:
I didn’t hear the answer, because I wasn’t listening when she read it out.
|
He listened carefully to every word I said.
▪ pay attention to listen carefully to what someone is saying:
I nodded to show I was paying attention.
|
She was tired and wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.
▪ eavesdrop to secretly listen to someone else’s conversation by standing near them, hiding behind a door etc:
I caught him eavesdropping on our conversation.
|
They spoke in quiet voices which made it hard to eavesdrop.
▪ overhear to hear someone say something, especially accidentally:
I overheard him say something about wanting to move house.
|
Excuse me! I couldn’t help overhearing that you were planning a trip to Thailand.
▪ tune in (to something) to listen to a radio programme, or to someone using a radio ↑ transmitter :
Over a million people tune in to the programme each week.
|
Tune in at the same time next week for the next episode.
|
The equipment could be used by criminals to tune in to police broadcasts.
▪ tap to connect a piece of electronic recording equipment to a telephone system so that you can listen to people’s telephone conversations:
The police had tapped the phones of all three suspects.
|
The President had to resign over an illegal phone-tapping operation.
▪ bug to hide a small piece of electronic recording equipment in someone’s room, car, office etc in order to listen secretly to what is said there:
Security agents bugged their offices and managed to get some evidence against them.
|
Wells was convinced the house was bugged and insisted on playing loud music while we talked.