eavesdropping
/ˈivsˌdɹɒ.piŋ/noun, verb
eavesdropping is spelled E-A-V-E-S-D-R-O-P-P-I-N-G: 13 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, eavesdropping means “Listening secretly to the private conversations of others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of eavesdropping is eavesdroppings.
How many letters and syllables are in eavesdropping?
| Letters | 13: E-A-V-E-S-D-R-O-P-P-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is eavesdropping?
Eavesdropping appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce eavesdropping?
- US /ˈivsˌdɹɒ.piŋ/
Eavesdropping has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-eavesdropping.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of eavesdropping
- eavesdroppings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does eavesdropping mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Listening secretly to the private conversations of others.
- 2
The interception of electronic communication.
- 3
The act of one organism listening for another's calls, so as to exploit them.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of eavesdrop
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Eavesdropping in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does eavesdropping come from?
From eavesdrop + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).