Word.ws English Dictionary

gossip

Syllables: gos·sipUK/ˈɡɒsɪp//ˈɡɑsɪp/

gossip noun: someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.

Noun

gossip (countable and uncountable, plural gossips)

  1. (countable) Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.
    • Be careful what you say to him: he’s a bit of a gossip.
    • A losing Gamester, who is obliged to drive into the City to dispose of a little South Sea Stock, gives the Hint there. The Gossips at Garraway’s have it in a Moment: At One it is buzz’d on Change, and the circulating Whisper in the Boxes interrupts the Play at Night.1752, Arthur Murphy, The Gray’s Inn Journal, volume 1, number 11, page 73
  2. (uncountable) Idle talk about someone’s private or personal matters, especially about someone not present.
    • According to the latest gossip, their relationship is on the rocks.
    • I have a juicy piece of gossip to share with you.
  3. (uncountable) Idle conversation in general.
    • 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.1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 38, in Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC
  4. (uncountable) A genre in contemporary media, usually focused on the personal affairs of celebrities.
    • a gossip columnist
    • a gossip blog
  5. Communication done using a gossip protocol.
  6. (historical) A sponsor; a godfather or godmother; the godparent of one's child or godchild, or the parent of one's godchild.
    • ’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips [i.e. she could not be a virgin, because she has children with godparents]c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
    • Should a great Lady, that was invited to be a Gossip, in her place send her Kitchen-Maid, ’twould be ill taken;1689, John Selden, Table-Talk, London: Jacob Tonson et al., 1696, “Prayer”, page 134
    Synonyms:
    sponsor, godsib
  7. (obsolete) A familiar acquaintance.
    • My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal:
      I thank ye heartily;1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)...
    Synonyms:
    friend
  8. (obsolete) Title used with the name of one's child's godparent or of a friend.
    • What, ho, gossip Ford! what, ho!c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • He was old and infirm, he wrote, and Gossip Death was waiting for him on the moor; but before he went to join him he would like to see Susan’s boy again.1905, William John Locke, chapter 11, in The Morals of Marcus Ordeyne

Verb

gossip (third-person singular simple present gossips, present participle gossiping or (rare) gossipping, simple past and past participle gossiped or (rare) gossipped)

  1. (intransitive) To talk about someone else's private or personal business, especially in a manner that spreads the information.
    • 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.1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 4, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume I, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book II, page 66
    • Godfrey felt guilty at having gossiped to Olive about Lettie’s changes in her will.1959, Muriel Spark, chapter 8, in Memento Mori, New York: Time-Life, 1964, page 109
  2. (intransitive) To talk idly.
    • […] on seats beneath the trees, the old men group of an evening to drink their ale and gossip over village politics;1889, Jerome K. Jerome, chapter 14, in Three Men in a Boat […]
    • "Tut! tut! The unchanging woman. They gossiped in my time and they gossip still."1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019
  3. (obsolete) To stand godfather to; to provide godparents for.
    • […] a world
      Of pretty, fond, adoptious christendoms [i.e. Christian names],
      That blinking Cupid gossips.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
    • The Pleasure I used to take in telling my Boy Stories of the Battles, and asking my Girl Questions about the Disposal of her Baby, and the Gossiping of it, is turned into inward Reflection and Melancholy.1709, Richard Steele, “No. 95 in The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff”, in The Tatler, London, 1712, page 282
  4. (obsolete) To enjoy oneself during festivities, to make merry.
    • […] 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.c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  5. (intransitive) To communicate using a gossip protocol.

Proper noun capitalized: Gossip

Gossip

  1. A surname.

gossip meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

gossip in Hindi

idle talk
गप-शप gap-śap, अफ़वाह afvāh

gossip in Tamil

வீண்பேச்சு, வெட்டிப் பேச்சு, வெட்டியான பேச்சு, அலர்

gossip in Marathi

गपशप, गपसप, गपशप करा

gossip in Urdu

idle talk
گپ شپ gap śap
More languagesFewer languages
gossip in Bengali
গপ gop, খোশগল্প khōśgolpo
gossip in Telugu
గాలి కబుర్లు gāli kaburlu
gossip in Malayalam
ഏഷണി ēṣaṇi, പരദൂഷണം paradūṣaṇaṁ, പറച്ചിൽ paṟaccil
gossip in Kannada
ಹರಟೆ, ಗೊಡ್ಡು ಹರಟೆ, ಬೀದಿ ಮಾತು, ಗುಲ್ಲು ಮಾತು
gossip in Punjabi
ਗੱਪ gappa, کاٹ kāṭ
gossip in Gujarati
વાત vāt
gossip in Odia
ଗପସପ, ଗପସପ କରିବା ପାଇଁ, ଗପସପ କରିବାକୁ
gossip in Nepali
गफ gaph
gossip in Tagalog
sitsit, tsika, tsismis, magtsismis
gossip in Arabic
نَمِيمَة namīma, إِشَاعَة ʔišāʕa, غِيبَة ḡība, اِغْتَابَ iḡtāba
gossip in Malay
gosip, bawang
gossip in Indonesian
gosip
gossip in Persian
سخنچینی soxan-čini, غیبت ġeybet
gossip in Thai
คำนินทา, ขี้ปาก, การซุบซิบ, ข่าวลือ kàao-lʉʉ
gossip in Myanmar
အတင်း a.tang:, ဈေးစကား jhe:ca.ka:, သူပြောငါပြော su-prau:nga-prau:
Dzongkha
ངག་ཀྱལ ngag kyal

Examples of gossip in a sentence

  • He was an arrant old gossip, too; for ever coming off in his canoe to the ships in the bay, and regaling their crews with choice little morsels of court scandal […]1846, Herman Melville, “Sequel Containing the Story of Toby”, in Typee:
  • He was a vicious male gossip, insatiably curious and vindictive without malice.1952, John Steinbeck, chapter 48, in East of Eden, London: Heinemann, page 456:
  • Not that I don’t adore dinners and gossip and dances; not that I do not love to pervade bright and glittering places.[…]1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter II, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
  • Why the hell couldn't they stay at home and mind their pots and pans and stick to their frocks and gossip and leave men's work to the men.1953, Ian Fleming, “Black Hare and Grey Hound”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 105:

All 40 example sentences with gossip

Synonyms of gossip

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of gossip

Forms of gossip

Noun
pluralgossips
Verb
third-person singular presentgossips
present participlegossiping
past participlegossiped
pastgossiped
present participle (rare)gossipping
past participle (rare)gossipped
past (rare)gossipped

Plural of gossip: gossips

Origin of gossip

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.

Words formed from gossip

Phrases with gossip

Questions about gossip

What does gossip mean?
Gossip means someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.
What is gossip in Hindi?
Gossip in Hindi is गप-शप (gap-śap), अफ़वाह (afvāh). See Gossip meaning in Hindi.
How do you use gossip in a sentence?
He was an arrant old gossip, too; for ever coming off in his canoe to the ships in the bay, and regaling their crews with choice little morsels of court scandal […]
What part of speech is gossip?
Gossip can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce gossip?
Gossip is pronounced /ˈɡɒsɪp/ (UK).
What is the plural of gossip?
The plural of gossip is gossips.

Words near gossip in the dictionary

  1. gosshawks
  2. gossib
  3. gossibs
  4. gossima
  5. Gossington
  6. gossip
  7. gossip mill
  8. gossip mills
  9. gossip mirror
  10. gossip mirrors
  11. gossip'd

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: gossip (page history and authors); Gossip (page history and authors); gossip (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); gossip (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); খোশগল্প (Bengali) (page history and authors); ഏഷണി (Malayalam) (page history and authors); gossip (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); کاٹ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); વાત (Gujarati) (page history and authors); gossip (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); गफ (Nepali) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-gossip.ogg.

Cite this entry: “gossip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gossip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.