- overhear
- verb (overheard; overhearing) Date: 1549 transitive verb to hear without the speaker's knowledge or intention intransitive verb to overhear something
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
overhear
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Overhear — O ver*hear , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Overheard}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Overhearing}.] [AS. oferhi[ e]ran.] [1913 Webster] 1. To hear more of (anything) than was intended to be heard; to hear by accident or artifice. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To hear again … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
overhear — I verb attend, become aware of, catch, detect, eavesdrop, exaudire, excipere, find out, glean knowledge of, hear, intercept, listen in on, listen stealthily, monitor, obtain knowledge of, pick up, receive information, receive knowledge of,… … Law dictionary
overhear — (v.) to hear what one is not meant to hear, 1540s, from OVER (Cf. over) + HEAR (Cf. hear). The notion is perhaps to hear beyond the intended range of the voice. Old English oferhieran meant to not listen, to disregard, disobey (Cf. OVERLOOK (Cf.… … Etymology dictionary
overhear — ► VERB (past and past part. overheard) ▪ hear accidentally or secretly … English terms dictionary
overhear — [ō΄vər hir′] vt. overheard, overhearing to hear (something spoken or a speaker) without the speaker s knowledge or intention … English World dictionary
overhear — o|ver|hear [ˌəuvəˈhıə US ˌouvərˈhır] v past tense and past participle overheard [ ˈhə:d US ˈhə:rd] [T] to accidentally hear what other people are saying, when they do not know that you have heard ▪ I overheard part of their conversation. overhear … Dictionary of contemporary English
overhear — verb past tense and past participle overheard, (T) to accidentally hear what other people are saying, when they do not know that you have heard: I overheard part of their conversation. | overhear sb saying sth: Christie overheard the men saying… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
overhear — UK [ˌəʊvə(r)ˈhɪə(r)] / US [ˌoʊvərˈhɪr] verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms overhear : present tense I/you/we/they overhear he/she/it overhears present participle overhearing past tense overheard UK [ˌəʊvə(r)ˈhɜː(r)d] / US [ˌoʊvərˈhɜrd] past … English dictionary
overhear — verb ADVERB ▪ accidentally PHRASES ▪ couldn t help overhearing sth ▪ Excuse me for interrupting, but I couldn t help overhearing what you were saying. Overhear is used with these nouns as the object: ↑conversation, ↑ … Collocations dictionary
overhear — [[t]o͟ʊvə(r)hɪ͟ə(r)[/t]] overhears, overhearing, overheard VERB If you overhear someone, you hear what they are saying when they are not talking to you and they do not know that you are listening. [V n] I overheard two doctors discussing my case … English dictionary
