What does "gossip" mean?
Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.
Gossip
/ˈɡɒsɪp/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.
- Grammar: gossip is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: dish the dirt, rumormonger, a tale-bearing animal, account.
- Useful contrasts: communique, discreet person, discretion.
- Usage evidence: I have no time to engage in gossip.
How to use "gossip"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gossip" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gossip" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gossip" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gossip" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gossip" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "dish the dirt" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gossip", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business. countable
"Be careful what you say to him: he’s a bit of a gossip."
- 2 light informal conversation for social occasions wordnet
- 3 Idle talk about someone’s private or personal matters, especially about someone not present. uncountable
"According to the latest gossip, their relationship is on the rocks."
- 4 a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people wordnet
- 5 Idle conversation in general. uncountable
"The parlor was always bright and attractive, the chessboard ready, the piano in tune, plenty of gay gossip, and a nice little supper set forth in tempting style."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 a person given to gossiping and divulging personal information about others wordnet
- 7 A genre in contemporary media, usually focused on the personal affairs of celebrities. uncountable
"a gossip columnist"
- 8 Communication done using a gossip protocol. countable, uncountable
- 9 A sponsor; a godfather or godmother; the godparent of one's child or godchild, or the parent of one's godchild. countable, historical, uncountable
"’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips [i.e. she could not be a virgin, because she has children with godparents]"
- 10 A familiar acquaintance. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal: I thank ye heartily;"
- 11 Title used with the name of one's child's godparent or of a friend. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"What, ho, gossip Ford! what, ho!"
Verb
- 1 To talk about someone else's private or personal business, especially in a manner that spreads the information. intransitive
"This Place then is no other than the Chandler’s Shop; the known Seat of all the News; or, as it is vulgarly called, Gossiping, in every Parish in England."
- 2 talk socially without exchanging too much information wordnet
- 3 To talk idly. intransitive
"[…] on seats beneath the trees, the old men group of an evening to drink their ale and gossip over village politics;"
- 4 wag one's tongue; speak about others and reveal secrets or intimacies wordnet
- 5 To stand godfather to; to provide godparents for. obsolete
"[…] a world Of pretty, fond, adoptious christendoms [i.e. Christian names], That blinking Cupid gossips."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 To enjoy oneself during festivities, to make merry. obsolete
"[…] those baby eyes That never saw the giant world enraged; Nor met with fortune other than at feasts, Full of warm blood, of mirth, of gossiping."
- 7 To communicate using a gossip protocol. intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"I have no time to engage in gossip."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gossip"?
Common synonyms include: dish the dirt, rumormonger, a tale-bearing animal, account, ace, amigo.
How do you use "gossip" in a sentence?
I have no time to engage in gossip.
How do you pronounce "gossip"?
Pronounced /ˈɡɒsɪp/.
Etymology
From Middle English godsybbe, godsib (“a close friend or relation, a confidant; a godparent”), from Old English godsibb (“godparent, sponsor”), equivalent to god + sib. Doublet of godsib. For sense evolution to "gossip, discussing others' personal affairs," compare French commérage.