gossiping

Syllables: gos·sip·ingUK/ˈɡɒs.ɪ.pɪŋ//ˈɡɑs.ɪ.pɪŋ/

gossiping is the present participle and gerund of gossip.

Noun

gossiping (plural gossipings)

The act of passing gossip; communication about other people's private business.
(obsolete) A christening.
- At Wendlebury and other places they bring their Cakes at a Gossiping, and give a large cake to the father of the child, wᶜʰ they call a Rocking Cake.1687, John Aubrey, Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme, page 65
- Another woman was returning late one night from a gossiping.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 163

Meaning of gossip

Verb

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

(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
Synonyms:

blab, dish the dirt, spill the tea, talk out of turn, tell tales out of school
(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 […]
Synonyms:

chat, chatter, chew the fat, chinwag, natter, prattle, shoot the breeze
(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]...
(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]...
(intransitive) To communicate using a gossip protocol.

See all 14 meanings of gossip

Forms of gossiping

Verb
alternative form	gossipping
Noun
plural	gossipings

Words formed from gossiping

Questions about gossiping

What does gossiping mean?: Gossiping means the act of passing gossip; communication about other people's private business.
What is gossiping the present participle and gerund of?: Gossiping is the present participle and gerund of gossip.
What part of speech is gossiping?: Gossiping is a noun.
How do you pronounce gossiping?: Gossiping is pronounced /ˈɡɑs.ɪ.pɪŋ/ (US).
What is the plural of gossiping?: The plural of gossiping is gossipings.

Words near gossiping in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: gossiping (page history and authors); gossip (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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

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