Standard English for someone who secretly listens to others' conversations. The word has a vivid origin: before modern drainage, rain fell from eaves onto the 'eavesdrop' ground below, and those who stood there could hear conversations inside a building. In military slang it was also applied to surveillance aircraft. The everyday sense remains fully current and standard rather than slangy.
She noticed the eavesdropper on the next table leaning in as she described the contract details.
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(military, slang) A surveillance aircraft.
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One who eavesdrops.
Eavesdropper means: One who eavesdrops.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up. For most families this word will pass by without incident; it is more a vocabulary curiosity than a parenting concern.
eavesdropper means: One who eavesdrops.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
“The Eavesdropper (Des Lauscher) (plate, folio 18) from Die Chinesische Mauer (The Great Wall of China) http://www.moma.org/collection/works/15977”
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