hearsay

Meanings

Plural: hearsays

Noun

• gossip (usually a mixture of truth and untruth) passed around by word of mouth
• Information that was heard by one person about another that cannot be adequately substantiated.
• Evidence based on the reports of others, which is normally inadmissible because it was not made under oath, rather than on personal knowledge.
• An out-of-court statement offered in court to prove the truth of the matter asserted (or the in-court testimony which recites such a statement), which is normally inadmissible (because it is not subject to cross-examination) unless it falls under one of a number of exceptions.

Adjective Satellite

• heard through another rather than directly
  • "hearsay information"

Synonyms

gossip, report, rumor, rumour

Related Words

as they say, hear, hear tell, so they say, you know what they say