overhears

verb

present tense third-person singular of overhear
as in hears
to listen to (another in private conversation) it's not polite to try to overhear intimate friends sharing confidences

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of overhears Lo overhears a scuffle in the cabin next door and a distinct splash in the freezing ocean waters. — Courtney Howard, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025 Rebekah overhears this plan and urges Jacob to disguise himself as Esau. — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026 Just then, Daisy comes onto the bridge to offer the captain a cup of coffee and overhears Ben’s suggestion. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 May 2026 Mami overhears our conversation and gives us a crisp hundred-peso note, plasticky and purple. — Joseph Trinidad, Longreads, 16 June 2026 An engineer overhears a sales call where a partner is requesting a specific feature and immediately huddles with the salesperson once the line clicks shut. — Vikram Joshi, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026 But a nurse eventually overhears Archer and Hannah discussing it, and misunderstands the situation. — Claire Franken, TVLine, 1 Oct. 2025 When Dickens overhears his son Baby chatting with Andersen during storytime, and the child’s painful stutter is gone, Dickens is grateful, at least temporarily, for Andersen’s presence. — Stuart Miller, Oc Register, 10 June 2026 Sophie overhears Anthony confront Benedict in the study, but Benedict puts up a solid argument that his brother, who has just returned from a trip to India with his wife Kate (Simone Ashley) and their son Edmund, hasn’t witnessed his planning and love for Sophie. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for overhears
  1. hears
  2. spies
  3. monitors
Verb
  • Walsh urged anyone who hears credible threats of violence, particularly in domestic situations, to report them immediately, saying early intervention gives law enforcement the best chance to prevent tragedy.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • Kevin Costner is the Iowa farmer who hears strange voices and builds a ball field in his corn.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of hears
Verb
  • Late one night, Clark spies what appears to be a sliver of light coming through a crack in the wall of the store’s basement.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026
  • In Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s The Finding of Moses, a dog spies a young girl whose presence unlocks the painting’s meaning.
    — Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Definition of spies
Verb
  • Instead of forcing business owners to constantly upload mountains of paper invoices or rigid bank statements, Magellan monitors the real-time transactions flowing directly through its platform.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 30 June 2026
  • The test monitors treatment response and cancer recurrence by detecting circulating tumor DNA, giving physicians real-time insights into treatment effectiveness.
    — Sasirekha Subramanian, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of monitors

Browse Nearby Words

overhearing
overhears
overheat
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Cite this Entry

“Overhears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/overhears. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on overhears

Nglish: Translation of overhears for Spanish Speakers

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