noun

hearsay

/ˈhɪrˌseɪ/ · say it: HEER·say

secondhand testimony, usually inadmissible as evidence

In Law & Justice

In more detail

1. (noun) information or a story that you heard from someone else, not something you saw or experienced yourself; rumor

2. (noun) in law, information given in court by a witness who did not see or experience something directly

Examples

1. I don't believe the gossip—that's just hearsay, not facts.
2. The judge ruled the testimony inadmissible because it was hearsay.

How to use hearsay

Hearsay refers to information received indirectly rather than from direct personal knowledge or observation. In everyday use it often carries a skeptical tone, implying the information is unverified or unreliable. In legal contexts, it has a precise technical meaning: testimony about what someone else said or did, which is generally inadmissible in court unless an exception applies. The word is more formal than gossip or rumor.

Common phrases

mere hearsay
pure hearsay
hearsay evidence
hearsay rule
based on hearsay
nothing but hearsay

Synonyms

rumor · gossip · word of mouth · secondhand report · unverified information

Opposites

firsthand account · direct evidence · eyewitness testimony

Word family

hearsay (noun only, no standard verb or adjective forms)

A common mistake

Learners sometimes treat hearsay as countable (saying 'hearsays') or use it to mean simply 'what people say' without the crucial implication that the speaker has no direct knowledge.

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