wiretap

verb wire·tap \ ˈwī(-ə)r-ˌtap \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

Examples: wiretap in a Sentence

Definition of wiretap

wiretapped; wiretapping; wiretaps

intransitive verb

: to tap a telephone or telegraph wire or cellular signal in order to get information

transitive verb

: to tap the telephone of

See wiretap defined for English-language learners

See wiretap defined for kids

Examples of wiretap in a Sentence

The FBI wiretapped his phone.

Recent Examples of wiretap from the Web

Specifically, Republican lawmakers have asserted that the FBI misused a secret surveillance court to get approval to wiretap former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

— kevin johnson, USA TODAY, "Justice inspector general opens probe of possible surveillance abuses in Russia election case," 28 Mar. 2018
The document offers a new timeline of wiretap orders in the case based on Dawkins' request for the recordings to be thrown out because an April 7 order to wiretap his phone was missing the name of the official who authorized it.

— chris white, The Courier-Journal, "Were Rick Pitino's calls with an Adidas executive recorded?," 10 Mar. 2018
The investigation began when DEA agents bought heroin from one of the men in September 2017 and a federal judge gave the agency permission to wiretap the defendants, a statement from U.S. Attorney Ben Glassman said.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Feds: Butler County heroin ring was sending drug money to Mexico," 1 Feb. 2018
Some believe Trump’s Twitter account has jolted sensibilities so often — from ghastly attacks on cable talking heads Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to baseless accusations about Trump Tower wiretaps — that outlandish is the new reigning norm.

— kyle swenson, Washington Post, "Trump’s Hillary Clinton tweet: Does it violate Twitter’s rules on violence?," 18 Sep. 2017
In 2015, Macedonia’s conservative government was accused of using the national security services to wiretap up to 20,000 people for its own political gain.

— sarah wilson sokhey, Washington Post, "This is why the West should pay attention to the drama in Macedonia," 29 May 2017
One of the recordings released after a fight with Congress and the courts revealed the president’s involvement in attempts to stymie an investigation into an attempt to wiretap the Democratic National Committee.

— chris strohm, Bloomberg.com, "White House Refuses to Say Whether Trump Tapes Conversations," 12 May 2017
There are transcripts of a conversation in at least one phone call, recorded by American intelligence agencies that wiretap foreign diplomats, which may determine Mr. Flynn’s future.

— david e. sanger, eric schmitt and peter baker, New York Times, "Turmoil at the National Security Council, From the Top Down," 12 Feb. 2017
Investigators from a Drug Enforcement Task Force began their probe of the organization using buys and wiretaps stemming back to October 2016, a criminal complaint filed by a DEA task force member read.

— nicholas rondinone, courant.com, "Months-Long Drug Operation Nets 20 Kilos Heroin, Fentanyl Largely Packaged For Streets," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wiretap.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of wiretap

1918

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

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wiretap

noun

Definition of wiretap

1 : the act or an instance of wiretapping

2 : an electrical connection for wiretapping

See wiretap defined for English-language learners

Examples of wiretap in a Sentence

Federal agents put a wiretap on his phone.
Investigators listened to the wiretaps for clues about the suspect's whereabouts.

Recent Examples of wiretap from the Web

Williams originally committed to the Wildcats in in June 2017, but re-opened his recruitment following an ESPN report that coach Sean Miller was caught on a wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to secure DeAndre Ayton.

— andrew nemec, OregonLive.com, "Brandon Williams, 5-star point guard, re-commits to Arizona over Oregon, Gonzaga," 5 May 2018
With Blazer as a cooperating witness, the motion argues that wiretaps were an unnecessary and overly invasive method for the government's investigation.

— james crepea, AL.com, "Chuck Person's lawyers file motion to suppress wiretaps, phone evidence in FBI case," 30 Apr. 2018
But law enforcement interest in Page dates to at least 2013, when the FBI caught two accused Russian spies on a wiretap discussing their attempts to recruit Page and use him to learn inside information about the U.S. energy industry.

— Washington Post, "Memo points to FBI’s sustained interest in Carter Page, ex-adviser to Trump," 2 Feb. 2018
Surveillance technology like wiretaps are covered by the Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure, but most police interest in facial recognition is in applying it to imagery gathered lawfully in public, or to mugshots.

— tom simonite, WIRED, "Few Rules Govern Police Use of Facial-Recognition Technology," 22 May 2018
Page had been on the FBI's radar since at least 2013, when the FBI caught two accused Russian spies on a wiretap discussing their attempts to recruit him.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "Secret FBI source for Russia probe met with 3 Trump advisers during campaign," 19 May 2018
Page had been on the FBI's radar since at least 2013, when the FBI caught two accused Russian spies on a wiretap discussing their attempts to recruit him.

— washington post, latimes.com, "Secret FBI source for Russia inquiry met with three Trump advisors during campaign," 19 May 2018
Dwight Eisenhower looked more favorably on the bureau and allowed it to expand use of wiretaps, the original means of electronic surveillance.

— peter grier, The Christian Science Monitor, "The perennial presidential urge to bring FBI 'under control'," 29 Mar. 2018
There were questions about ESPN report, which had issued a correction about the wiretap timeline before retracting that correction.

— andrew joseph, azcentral, "Arizona basketball: Sean Miller supporters at Pac-12 tournament in 'vindicated' T-shirts," 8 Mar. 2018