listening in (on)

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)
Verb
  • What’s most important is to build the habit of monitoring your spending habits.
    True Tamplin, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Given their constraints, the most plausible near-term roles are simple, repetitive, or hazardous tasks in structured spaces, moving totes, staging parts, and monitoring routine operations, where their slower pace or limited dexterity won’t bottleneck the entire line.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In that incident, two men allegedly fired into an apartment building from the lot after hearing gunshots nearby and observing a green laser on one man’s daughter.
    PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 12 Sep. 2025
  • But where the book ends with David hearing a hopeful message on the radio, the movie has the tank run out.
    James Grebey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Myles Graham, Aaron Chiles and Jaden Robinson struggled to balance spying the mobile USF signal caller with upholding UF’s zone coverage on crossing routes.
    Noah White, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Pentagon has deployed unmanned aircraft for spying missions over the Black Sea, with one drone downed by a Russian fighter jet in March 2023.
    Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 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

“Listening in (on).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/listening%20in%20%28on%29. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

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