coveted; coveting; covets
1
: to wish for earnestly
covet an award
2
: to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably
The king's brother coveted the throne.
: to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another
Examples of covet in a Sentence
The oldest of the students, she had become a confidante of Fern's and she alone was allowed to call her by her first name. It was not a privilege the others coveted.
—
Edward P. Jones, The Known World, 2003
The only Commandment I'd breached, besides killing that bird with my air rifle, was that I had coveted Bobby Entrekin's electric train. It blew real smoke. Mine didn't.
—Lewis Grizzard, Reader's Digest, January 1992
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
—Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
His religion warns against coveting material goods.
I've been coveting that sleek sports car in the showroom for some time now.
Edward P. Jones, The Known World, 2003
The only Commandment I'd breached, besides killing that bird with my air rifle, was that I had coveted Bobby Entrekin's electric train. It blew real smoke. Mine didn't.
—Lewis Grizzard, Reader's Digest, January 1992
He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
—Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
His religion warns against coveting material goods.
I've been coveting that sleek sports car in the showroom for some time now.
Recent Examples on the Web
While there are older baseball cards with fewer copies in existence and certainly similarly scarce cards in better condition, the Wagner has long been coveted due to its combination of scarcity and Hall of Fame subject.
—Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 28 May 2025
Both are lavishly wealthy business tycoons who coveted, then achieved, rather late in life, the highest office in their land.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 27 May 2025
Companies covet skills that are also quintessentially core military skills, such as discipline, teamwork and problem-solving.
—Vicki Salemi, Boston Herald, 25 May 2025
But Jokic has always quietly coveted these moments.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for covet
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 28 May 2025
Both are lavishly wealthy business tycoons who coveted, then achieved, rather late in life, the highest office in their land.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 27 May 2025
Companies covet skills that are also quintessentially core military skills, such as discipline, teamwork and problem-solving.
—Vicki Salemi, Boston Herald, 25 May 2025
But Jokic has always quietly coveted these moments.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for covet
Cite this Entry
“Covet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covet. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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