eavesdropping
noun
eaves·drop·ping
ˈēvz-ˌdrä-piŋ 
: the act of secretly listening to something private
Highly sophisticated means of electronic eavesdropping were developed and put into use, largely uncontrolled by the law.—
Wayne R. LaFave & Jerold H. Israel
Wayne R. LaFave & Jerold H. IsraelFor a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.—Rick Riordan
Rick RiordanExamples of eavesdropping in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Those coordinates can come from any intelligence source: a satellite, a drone, radio eavesdropping or even a human spotter with a pair of binoculars.
—David Axe, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Apple agrees to $95M settlement over Siri eavesdropping claims: Who could get payments, if it’s approved
Also, in the Calculator app, a mathematical operation can now be repeated by tapping the equal button again.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 28 Jan. 2025
Encryption not only helps prevent eavesdropping but also ensures that sensitive conversations—like financial transactions or legal discussions—remain private.
2.
—Ruchir Brahmbhatt, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
And there is an extraordinary and often controversial degree of cooperation between the countries’ intelligence agencies, as demonstrated in the Falklands and Iraq wars, in ongoing counterterrorism operations, and most recently in the PRISM eavesdropping program leaked by Edward Snowden.
—Peter Martin, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2016
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David Axe, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
Apple agrees to $95M settlement over Siri eavesdropping claims: Who could get payments, if it’s approved
Also, in the Calculator app, a mathematical operation can now be repeated by tapping the equal button again.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 28 Jan. 2025
Encryption not only helps prevent eavesdropping but also ensures that sensitive conversations—like financial transactions or legal discussions—remain private.
2.
—Ruchir Brahmbhatt, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
And there is an extraordinary and often controversial degree of cooperation between the countries’ intelligence agencies, as demonstrated in the Falklands and Iraq wars, in ongoing counterterrorism operations, and most recently in the PRISM eavesdropping program leaked by Edward Snowden.
—Peter Martin, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2016
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
Cite this Entry
“Eavesdropping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eavesdropping. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.
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