Meaning & use
bit of gossip
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Meaning
nouncountable
A small piece of talk or news about other people's private lives, usually not verified.
Grammar: Countable when you mean one piece of it: a bit of gossip, two bits of gossip. The uncountable 'gossip' names the activity in general.
Patterns
- a bit of gossip about someone
- hear a bit of gossip
- share a bit of gossip
I heard a bit of gossip about the new manager, but I'm not sure it's true.
She leaned over and whispered a bit of gossip about the neighbors.
A bit of gossip can be harmless, but it can also hurt people.
Word forms
| plural | bits of gossip |
|---|
Common combinations
- a juicy bit of gossip
- Everyone wanted to hear the juicy bit of gossip about the celebrity wedding.
- a harmless bit of gossip
- It was just a harmless bit of gossip between friends.
- spread a bit of gossip
- Don't spread a bit of gossip you can't prove.
- a bit of gossip about someone
- There's a bit of gossip about Sarah going around the office.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rumor
- A rumor is usually unverified information that spreads widely; a bit of gossip is more personal and often about private lives.
- tidbit
- A tidbit is a small, interesting piece of information, often more neutral than gossip.
- scandal
- Scandal suggests shocking and public wrongdoing, much stronger than a bit of gossip.
Word family
Commonly confused: bit of gossip or gossip?
bit of gossip vs gossip
'Gossip' alone is usually uncountable: 'I don't like gossip.' Use 'a bit of gossip' when you mean one specific piece.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bit of gossip' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A bit of gossip' is the correct countable phrase. Option 2 is wrong because 'gossip' is not pluralized as 'gossips' in this sense; option 3 is missing 'a bit of'; option 4 is missing the article 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bit of gossip”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.