wiretap

verb

Definition of wiretapnext
as in to tap

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of wiretap That’s why law enforcement can’t just wiretap us all at will. — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 10 Oct. 2025 As attorney general, Robert Kennedy approved Hoover's request in 1963 to wiretap King amid concerns that King was associating with communists. — Marc Caputo, Axios, 15 Feb. 2025 Bitdefender also manages programs that wiretap you through the microphone. — PCMAG, 13 Jan. 2025 The courts ultimately denied the order, but only because enabling the FBI to wiretap the car in that case would have meant turning off other safety features. — Margo Anderson, IEEE Spectrum, 8 Feb. 2016 See All Example Sentences for wiretap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiretap
  1. tap
  2. bug
  3. spy
  4. overhear
Verb
  • The informant gave Buchanan money and a phone that was tapped by the FBI, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Journalist Trymaine Lee, who has covered stories ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the power of the Black electorate, was presumably tapped to bring insight into big-picture issues such as race, violence, and the justice system.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of tap
Verb
  • On Monday, a court granted the US government’s request to deny release of a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a top-secret conference room to steal the frontier lab’s secrets.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
  • And as the team moved into the couple’s guest house on their San Diego rental property, the filmmakers feared that the home was bugged and ordered a device to try to de-bug it, without success.
    — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of bug
Verb
  • For additional privacy guidance, see our CyberGuy article, Are Apple devices spying?
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In a Russian state TV video report, three masked men in black uniforms handcuffed ​a man lying on the ground as a voice off camera said he was suspected of spying.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of spy
Verb
  • Rosa is kind and helpful, but Kaylee worries about disappointing Fraser, who overhears her ask for Rosa’s help.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026
  • With the festival’s first weekend coinciding with the Brazilian presidential elections, almost every conversation overheard at RioMarket during the event’s early days was intertwined with politics.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of overhear

Browse Nearby Words

wires
wiretap
wiretapped
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Cite this Entry

“Wiretap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiretap. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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