noun
hearsay
HEER-say/ˈhɪrseɪ/
Information learned from others rather than through direct knowledge.
I know about the dispute only through hearsay, not firsthand experience.
Etymology
Hear and say combine in the idea “hear someone say.” The noun names information received through another person's words, rather than knowledge gained by directly observing the events.
In context
There's this idea in the rules of evidence known as hearsay, which is I can't go into court and testify about something I didn't personally witness.
More examples
- The report relies on hearsay rather than eyewitness accounts.
- She dismisses the story as hearsay until someone confirms it.
- Much of what we know about his childhood comes from hearsay.