What does gossip mean?
Word: Gossip
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Gossip means informal talk about other people and the things happening in their lives.
How do you spell gossip?
Syllables: gos - sip
Tricky part: The middle has a double s, but the end has only one p. Pupils often swap these and write a single s or a double p.
Watch out for: gosip, gossipp
Memory tip: Picture two snakes whispering in the middle of the word, hissing ss to each other.
Gossip in a sentence
Example 1: Every evening Grandma and her neighbour catch up on the gossip from the market.
Example 2: At lunch the friends shared the latest gossip about the school's new swimming pool.
Example 3: There was a lot of gossip about who would be the new class monitor.
Fun Fact
Hundreds of years ago the word was used for a close friend, and only much later did it come to mean chatty talk about other people.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
g_ss_p
a) u, i
b) o, e
c) e, i
d) o, i
Show answer
d) o, i. The first vowel sounds like the o in got, and the second like the i in sip.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
spigos
a) glossy
b) possibly
c) gossip
d) gosling
Show answer
c) gossip. Glossy needs an l and a y, gosling needs l and n, and possibly needs b, l and y.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) whispar
b) gossip
c) secrett
d) mesage
Show answer
b) gossip. Whisper ends in er, message has two s's, and secret ends in a single t.
Word Makeup
Choose the correct suffix to make a new word:
gossip
a) ey
b) ie
c) i
d) y
Show answer
d) y. A describing word for someone who likes this kind of talk ends the way windy and sandy do.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is the best example of gossip?
a) chatting about a cousin's new job
b) asking a teacher a question
c) singing the school song
d) reading a science book alone
Show answer
a) chatting about a cousin's new job
2. Mum and Aunty sat down with their tea for a good gossip. What did they do?
a) had a long, quiet nap
b) cooked a big, hot meal
c) had a long, friendly chat
d) went for a long walk
Show answer
c) had a long, friendly chat
