Word
Definition
n. talk about other people and their private lives, especially when they are not present. This talk is often not confirmed to be true and can sometimes be unkind.
n. casual conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details not confirmed as being true. Primarily uncountable, but can be countable when referring to a specific instance.
Examples
“She loves to share the latest town gossip.”
“He heard some gossip about why his coworker quit, but he didn't want to spread rumors that might be untrue.”
“Though routinely condemned, historians recognize that gossip has always served as a vital, if unreliable, channel for circulating information and enforcing community norms where formal communication is absent.”
Examples
simple
“She loves to share the latest town gossip.”
contextual
“He heard some gossip about why his coworker quit, but he didn't want to spread rumors that might be untrue.”
complex
“Though routinely condemned, historians recognize that gossip has always served as a vital, if unreliable, channel for circulating information and enforcing community norms where formal communication is absent.”
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “gossip” in context.
Verb
01. exchange gossip
“They sat in the cafe for hours, drinking coffee and exchanging gossip.”
verb + noun
02. gossip circulates
“False gossip circulates quickly in a small town like this.”
noun + verb
03. hear gossip
“I heard some gossip that the manager is planning to resign.”
verb + noun
04. ignore gossip
“The best way to deal with rumors is to simply ignore gossip.”
verb + noun
Adjective
05. harmless gossip
“Most of what they talk about is just harmless gossip about celebrities.”
adj + noun
06. idle gossip
“Don't pay any attention to him; it's just idle gossip.”
adj + noun
07. juicy gossip
“He couldn't wait to tell me some juicy gossip he heard at the party.”
adj + noun
08. malicious gossip
“She was deeply hurt by the malicious gossip spreading through the office.”
adj + noun
09. a hotbed of gossip
“The local hairdressers was known as a hotbed of gossip.”
10. be the subject of gossip
“She hated being the subject of gossip among her colleagues.”
11. be the talk of
“Their sudden breakup was the talk of the entire school for weeks.”
12. listen to office gossip
“I try not to listen to office gossip while I'm at my desk.”
Etymology
Middle English godsybbe (later gossip) reaches back to Old English godsibb, “god-relation”, a transparent compound of god and sib “kin”. It meant simply a godparent, a person bound by baptism rather than blood.
By the 14th century the word had loosened to mean any intimate friend who might be invited to a lying-in; such visitors talked, and by the 16th century the talk itself—first idle chat, then tittle-tattle—had taken over the noun. The shift is paralleled in French commérage, where a sponsor’s title likewise drifted into “scandal-mongering”.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Related words
Domain
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B1 PreliminaryIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.4.0–5.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 3.0–3.544–71TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.550–784
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B1 · IntermediateOxford
- Updated
- アルファベット
- 読み方の一覧 →
QR code
englishreference.com/q/gossip
※ 機械で選んだ訳語です。ネイティブスピーカーによる確認はまだです。
「日本語」「カタカナ語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
‘외래어’ data: 한국어기초사전 (국립국어원), CC BY-SA 2.0 KR