Gossip Meaning
/ˈɡɒsɪp/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSomeone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.
nounIdle talk about someone’s private or personal matters, especially about someone not present.
Sentence Examples
I have no time to engage in gossip.
Malicious gossip spreads like wildfire. I guess that's why they say bad news travels fast.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ that spread quickly about the manager was false.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You should not listen to ____, as it is often based on rumors and can be very hurtful to other people.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"Alf could tell you about everybody on both sides of Main Street. 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:
"[…] the thing is certainly true. It is not a mere bit of gossip. We have it from Frederick himself."
— 1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter XVIII, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC:
"I ought to arise and go forth with timbrels and with dances; but, do you know, I am not inclined to revels? There has been a little—just a very little bit too much festivity so far …. 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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ that spread quickly about the manager was false.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
You should not listen to ____, as it is often based on rumors and can be very hurtful to other people.