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
Canvasser was arrested Wednesday and charged with unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance, according to police records.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
And that communication can be in the open, on a public channel susceptible to eavesdropping.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
Banks extols the virtues of eavesdropping.
—Sarah Rodman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
Raasch remains in custody on 12 counts of videotaping an undressed person and three counts of eavesdropping.
—James Taylor, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
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Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
And that communication can be in the open, on a public channel susceptible to eavesdropping.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
Banks extols the virtues of eavesdropping.
—Sarah Rodman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Mar. 2026
Raasch remains in custody on 12 counts of videotaping an undressed person and three counts of eavesdropping.
—James Taylor, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
Cite this Entry
“Eavesdropping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eavesdropping. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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