gossip
gos-sip · noun
Definitions
noun
- 1.
Casual or unconstrained conversation about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as true.
- 2.
To engage in casual talk about other people's private affairs.
- 3.
A person who habitually reveals personal or sensational information about others.
Forms
plural: gossips
Phrases & expressions
- •gossip column — A newspaper section featuring celebrity rumors
- •office gossip — Rumors and talk circulating in a workplace
- •gossip mill — The informal network through which rumors spread
- •hot gossip — The latest, most sensational rumors
Related words
Etymology
From Old English godsibb ("godparent"), originally meaning a close friend or sponsor at baptism. The sense shifted in Middle English to "a person with whom one gossips," then to the talk itself. From god + sibb ("relative, kinsman").