listening in (on)

verb

present participle of listen in (on)
as in eavesdropping (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 listening in (on)
  1. monitoring
  2. hearing
  3. spying
  4. overhearing
Verb
  • Repeating that process could happen, but the front office and Taylor will be monitoring the situation closely.
    — Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Jackie, who had been monitoring the situation, later brought Sandy a fish as a reward.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of monitoring
Verb
  • Indeed, in May the lower court hearing the MiniMax case declined to accept MiniMax’s defense on this basis.
    — Schuyler Moore, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Isabel’s journey is one of awakening and remembering the past, seeing it and hearing it.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of hearing
Verb
  • He was arrested by the police and convicted of spying for a terror plot against the network.
    — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The White House instituted the ban citing the threat of foreign entities potentially spying or conducting sabotage through the robots.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of spying
Verb
  • We weren’t allowed to leave the room to prevent anyone from overhearing our conversations and perhaps posting [the questions] on the Internet.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 11 Aug. 2026
  • But despite getting back together in season two, the finale ended on a cliffhanger of Alex overhearing Jackie confess her love to his brother Cole.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of overhearing
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.

Browse Nearby Words

listening
listening in (on)
listening (to)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Listening in (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/listening%20in%20%28on%29. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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