gossip

1. (countable) Someone who likes to talk about other people's private or personal business.Examples: "Be careful what you say to him: he’s a bit of a gossip."; "A losing Gamester, who is obliged to drive into the City to dispose of a little South Sea Stock, gives the Hint there. The Gossips at Garraway’s have it in a Moment: At One it is buzz’d on Change, and the circulating Whisper in the Boxes interrupts the Play at Night."; "He was an arrant old gossip, too; for ever coming off in his canoe to the ships in the bay, and regaling their crews with choice little morsels of court scandal […]"Synonyms: busybody, gossipmonger, meddler, rumormonger, carrytale, blab, blabbermouth, blabtalecountable

2. (uncountable) Idle talk about someone’s private or personal matters, especially about someone not present.Examples: "According to the latest gossip, their relationship is on the rocks."; "I have a juicy piece of gossip to share with you."; "[…] the thing is certainly true. It is not a mere bit of gossip. We have it from Frederick himself."Synonyms: dirt, hearsay, rumor, scandal, scuttlebutt, bruit, buzz, fameuncountable

3. (uncountable) Idle conversation in general.Examples: "The parlor was always bright and attractive, the chessboard ready, the piano in tune, plenty of gay gossip, and a nice little supper set forth in tempting style."Synonyms: chat, chinwag, chit-chat, natter, babble, bavardage, bibble-babble, blabuncountable

4. (uncountable) A genre in contemporary media, usually focused on the personal affairs of celebrities.Examples: "a gossip columnist"; "a gossip blog"; "Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to "Chat of the Social World," gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl's intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy—[…]—distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its flavor."uncountable

5. (computing) Communication done using a gossip protocol.countableuncountable

6. (now only historical) A sponsor; a godfather or godmother; the godparent of one's child or godchild, or the parent of one's godchild.Examples: "’tis not a maid, for she hath had gossips [i.e. she could not be a virgin, because she has children with godparents]"; "Should a great Lady, that was invited to be a Gossip, in her place send her Kitchen-Maid, ’twould be ill taken;"; "It seems, Miss, that if he stood not himself, or procur’d not Gossips for the Christening of the Children of his poorer Tenants, he always sent them a large rich Cake […]"Synonyms: sponsor, godsibcountablehistoricaluncountable