Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

overhear

/oʊ.vɚˈhɪɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.65 in modern English

Syllables
over-hear
IPA
/oʊ.vɚˈhɪɚ/
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To hear something that was not meant for one's ears.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English overheren, from Old English oferhīeran (“to overhear, hear, disobey, disregard, neglect”), equivalent to over- + hear. Cognate with Dutch overhoren (“to hear, hear about”), German überhören (“to not hear, ignore”), Danish overhøre (“to overhear”), Icelandic yfirheyra (“to hear”), Gothic *𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (*ufarhausjan, “to disregard, disobey”) (in 𐌿𐍆𐌰𐍂𐌷𐌰𐌿𐍃𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (ufarhauseins)).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /oʊ.vɚˈhɪɚ/

Inflected Forms

overhears (present, singular) overhearing (participle, present) overheard (participle, past) overheard (past)

Derived Forms

overhearer

Synonyms

catch take in

Rhymes With

here we're hear ear tier weir seer sight-seer keir puppeteer bier buccaneer

Questions

How do you pronounce overhear?
The recorded pronunciation is /oʊ.vɚˈhɪɚ/.
What does overhear mean?
To hear something that was not meant for one's ears.
Where does overhear come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce overhear

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “overhear”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/oʊ.vɚˈhɪɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “overhear”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “overhear” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.