surveil

verb

sur·​veil sər-ˈvāl How to pronounce surveil (audio)
surveilled; surveilling
Synonyms of surveilnext

transitive verb

: to subject to surveillance

Examples of surveil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Recently, Customs and Border Protection was granted access to over 80,000 Flock cameras, which have also been used to surveil protests. Jess Reia, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2026 Many locals see them as a nuisance that take away jobs and surveil neighborhoods with their extensive array of cameras. Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026 The back-and-forth revolves around Anthropic's push to bar the military from using its AI model Claude to surveil Americans or power fully autonomous weapons. Joe Walsh, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026 Now, the men guard their towns from mountain watch posts and surveil 100 cartel gunmen camped out a few miles (kilometers) away using their own drones. ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surveil

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from surveillance

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of surveil was in 1884

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surveil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveil. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on surveil

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster