gossip

[ gos-uhp ]

noun

1. idle talk or rumor, especially about the personal or private affairs of others:

   the endless gossip about Hollywood stars.

   Synonyms: chitchat, palaver, hearsay, small talk

2. light, familiar talk or writing.
3. Also gossiper, gossipper. a person given to tattling or idle talk.

   Synonyms: rumormonger, chatterer

4. Chiefly British Dialect. a godparent.
5. Archaic. a friend, especially a woman.

verb (used without object)

, gos·siped or gos·sipped, gos·sip·ing or gos·sip·ping.

1. to talk idly, especially about the affairs of others; go about tattling.

   Synonyms: palaver, prate, prattle, chatter

verb (used with object)

, gos·siped or gos·sipped, gos·sip·ing or gos·sip·ping.

1. Chiefly British Dialect. to stand godparent to.
2. Archaic. to repeat like a gossip.

gossip

/ ˈɡɒsɪp /

noun

1. casual and idle chat

   to have a gossip with a friend

2. a conversation involving malicious chatter or rumours about other people

   a gossip about the neighbours

3. Also calledgossipmonger a person who habitually talks about others, esp maliciously
4. light easy communication

   to write a letter full of gossip

5. archaic.
   a close woman friend

verb

1. introften foll byabout to talk casually or maliciously (about other people)

Derived Forms

• ˈgossipingly, adverb
• ˈgossiping, nounadjective
• ˈgossipy, adjective
• ˈgossiper, noun

Other Words From

• gos·sip·ing·ly adverb
• in·ter·gos·sip verb intergossiped or intergossipped intergossiping or intergossipping
• un·gos·sip·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gossip¹

First recorded before 1050; Middle English gossib, godsib(be), Old English godsibb, originally “godparent,” equivalent to god + sibb “related”; god, sib

Word History and Origins

Origin of gossip¹

Old English godsibb godparent, from god + sib ; the term came to be applied to familiar friends, esp a woman's female friends at the birth of a child, hence a person, esp a woman, fond of light talk

Synonym Study

Gossip, scandal apply to idle talk and newsmongering about the affairs of others. Gossip is light chat or talk: to trade gossip about the neighbors. Scandal is rumor or general talk that is damaging to reputation; it is usually more or less malicious: The town never lived down the election scandal.

Example Sentences

As dramatic as local gossip can be, the idea of Ariana Grande filming a Hollywood blockbuster in Ivinghoe proved a step too far for many villagers.

From BBC

Why, it’s almost as if she learned the Plastics' trick of luring someone to gossip about another person on the phone without letting on that it's a three-way conference with the subject silently listening.

From Salon

Stories about him appeared almost daily in the New York Post gossip column Page Six.

From Salon

"No-one has been able to nail down who exactly has benefited. It’s almost like a beer parlour gossip about who is getting what," says Toyin Akinosho of the Africa Oil+Gas Report.

From BBC

Because of his omnipresence in Hollywood, Jones became a repository of gossip and anecdotes.

From Salon

Related Words

• buzz
• chatter
• chitchat
• conversation
• hearsay
• news
• scandal
• slander
• tale