wiretapping 1 of 2

noun

as in eavesdropping

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wiretapping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wiretap
as in tapping

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wiretapping
Noun
Lawrence, Massachusetts, Mayor Brian DePeña, who is already facing unrelated federal criminal charges, was arraigned Tuesday on more than a dozen state wiretapping charges. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 Later that year, he was charged with wiretapping, and although authorities did not offer more details, local journalists have reported that the alleged wiretapping was meant to monitor the investigation of his mother. — James Lasdun, New Yorker, 26 May 2026 Under the plan, FISA, which allows warrantless wiretapping of noncitizens, would be extended for three years, with new oversight guardrails and penalties for abusing the spy tool. — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2026 Michael Gagnon was charged with unlawful wiretapping and violating an abuse prevention order. — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 14 Apr. 2026 The two men planted themselves at the bedside of the ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft to block Bush administration officials from making an end run to get Ashcroft’s permission to reauthorize a secret no-warrant wiretapping program. — Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2026 In the decades since, multiple presidents have relied on that congressional mandate to justify a grab bag of military counterterrorism activities, including the detention of people who had not been convicted of a crime at Guantanamo Bay and the secret wiretapping of Americans. — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026 So prosecutors are being forced to try other methods to establish who fired the gun, including phone tracing, interviews and wiretapping. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 22 Feb. 2026 Past disputes have included Australian intelligence wiretapping accusations involving Indonesia's former president, the execution of Australian drug smugglers and tensions over people smuggling. — Niniek Karmini, Arkansas Online, 8 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiretapping
  1. eavesdropping
  2. tapping
  3. surveillance
  4. bugging
  5. reconnaissance
  6. spying
  7. observation
  8. monitoring
Noun
  • Many state wiretap and eavesdropping laws are written around whether a private communication was intercepted or its contents were acquired — not simply whether a conventional audio recording was created.
    — MacKenzie Sigalos,Annie Palmer, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026
  • OpenAI’s forthcoming device, rumored to be a portable smart speaker, could encounter similar eavesdropping concerns.
    — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of eavesdropping
Verb
  • Companies are also tapping the public debt markets in an unprecedented way.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026
  • But programming matters just as much as timing, and that includes tapping the right host.
    — Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of tapping
Noun
  • Criminal charges against the ICE officer who drove the vehicle are being considered by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, after surveillance footage contradicted ICE’s claim that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle.
    — Lekan Oyekanmi, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Witness statements and video surveillance showed Lindo drawing a black handgun during an argument involving several individuals, including a professional UFC fighter.
    — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of surveillance
Verb
  • However, in-flight cabin etiquette is only one part of what’s bugging travelers this summer.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The necessity of the trip at all is what's been bugging me.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 12 June 2026
Definition of bugging
Noun
  • The team sees potential applications in urban delivery and long-distance reconnaissance across rough terrain, where speed, maneuverability, and obstacle clearance are important.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2026
  • China has since created spacecraft for communications; navigation; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance that would have been unimaginable to PLA officials who observed Desert Storm.
    — Kathleen Curlee, Foreign Affairs, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of reconnaissance
Verb
  • It is understood Kering plans to build on the foundation left by Vaccarello, also spying additional opportunities in jewelry.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Invariably, the goal of this kind of espionage is to help key sectors in the spying country rapidly replicate or surpass American advances.
    — DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of spying
Noun
  • The songs on Purdy also have the tone of journal entries, detailing haggard trips to the grocery store, daydreams about his young daughters’ glamorous adult lives, and observations about the banality of oppression.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Matt Schnaars, president of platform distribution and partnerships for NBCUniversal, reinforced Shapiro’s observations in a separate session.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of observation
Verb
  • The researchers say future deployments of the current prototype would be able to remain at sea for weeks at a time, monitoring environmental conditions.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • With public safety power shutoffs underway across much of the region, fire crews are closely monitoring the situation, warning that even small grass fires can quickly spread under dangerous fire conditions.
    — Kayla Moeller, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of monitoring

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Cite this Entry

“Wiretapping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiretapping. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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