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listen in (on)

as in to eavesdrop (on)
to listen to (another in private conversation) it's not polite to listen in on other people's private conversations

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for listen in (on)
Verb
  • Expect to continue hearing rumors about Swinney moving forward this season.
    Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Prosecutors said Raleigh walked outside his home after hearing Chastain throwing rocks at his garage.
    Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 11 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Schlegel, a travel adviser from Arlington, Virginia, has told clients to not panic, to monitor their flights and to arrive at the airport early.
    JOSH FUNK, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is acquiring powerful new surveillance tools to identify and monitor people.
    Jude Joffe-Block, NPR, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The United States and France first warned more than a decade ago that Russian satellites appeared to be spying and collecting information on their assets, including on commercially run satellites.
    Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • McCann spied an errant pumpkin.
    Ben McGrath, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • On June 20, 1940, someone told the night policeman, Tip Hunter, that Elbert Williams, a relative of Elisha Davis, had been overheard proposing a meeting between the Brownsville and Jackson NAACP branches.
    Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Jim MacDonald, a commercial fisherman, had overheard radio transmissions between the Fitzgerald and the Anderson the night of the disaster.
    Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Listen in (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/listen%20in%20%28on%29. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.

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