eavesdrop
/ˈiːvzˌdɹɒp/
"eavesdrop" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“eavesdrop” is uncommon English (frequency #54,143 among 18,836 “E” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #54,143
- frequency rank, English
- 18,836
- “E” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To hear (intentionally) a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.
Corpus desk
Index EN-eavesdrop · eavesdrop · English
eavesdrop · rank #54,143 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #54,143
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 18,836
- PHOTO-FINISH ECA
Nearest frequency peer: ECA (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “eavesdrop”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- duffle
duffle
45,862 corpus weight
- dupes
dupes
45,861 corpus weight
- Eason
Eason
45,860 corpus weight
- eavesdrop
eavesdrop
45,858 corpus weight
- ECA
ECA
45,857 corpus weight
- Eder
Eder
45,853 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “eavesdrop” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | eavesdrop |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈiːvzˌdɹɒp/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #54,143 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “eavesdrop” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
eavesdrop is uncommon English at frequency #54,143 among 18,836 “E” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈiːvzˌdɹɒp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for eavesdrop, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From eaves + drop; the "listening" sense derives from the notion of the listener standing in the area denoted by the physical sense. The correct English form is eavesdrop, spelled E-A-V-E-S-D-R-O-P.
Definition
- 1To hear (intentionally) a conversation one is not intended to hear; to listen in.
- 2To listen for another organism's calls, so as to exploit them.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how eavesdrop appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I hope nobody was eavesdropping on our conversation last night, since it got so personal.
[…] Eastern Red Bat will eavesdrop on the sonar calls of other red bats to locate potential insect prey.
Etymology
From eaves + drop; the "listening" sense derives from the notion of the listener standing in the area denoted by the physical sense.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "eavesdrop", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.