Covet
verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of, often enviously. transitive
"What Netflix really covets is closer to its current competencies: WBD's “intellectual property”, or in plain English, franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Friends, pictured, and The Sopranos."
- 2 wish, long, or crave for (something, especially the property of another person) wordnet
- 3 To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden). transitive
- 4 To yearn; to have or indulge an inordinate desire, especially for another's possession. intransitive
"No! He covets. That is his nature. And how do we begin to covet, Clarice? Do we seek out things to covet? Make an effort to answer now."
Example
More examples"Japanese bureaucrats are nothing but traitors to the country who covet our tax money and will continue the practice of amakudari until the country is bankrupt."
Etymology
From Middle English coveten, coveiten, coveyten, from Old French covoitier (modern French convoiter), from covoitié (“desire”), presumably modified from Latin cupiditas.
More for "covet"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.