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
  • Actor Brad Pitt has been tapped as an executive producer of a forthcoming film about the work of Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Before anyone could tap their heels on the floor and start the party, though, fire sprinklers went off unexpectedly in a nearby hotel room, forcing everyone to evacuate the building.
    — DeAsia Paige, AJC.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of tap
Verb
  • Not too much bugs him, but he sometimes is annoyed by his baby sister and doesn’t trust people who put pineapple on their pizza.
    — Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The indictment revealed that prosecutors had bugged the Aisenbergs' home for three months after Sabrina's disappearance.
    — Curran Rastogi, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of bug
Verb
  • Why does English football view spying as a heinous crime while other countries openly admit to using drones to study upcoming opponents?
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The prevalence of LRDs in the early universe would align with the emergence of supermassive black holes, each weighing millions to billions of suns apiece, which astronomers spy at the hearts of large galaxies.
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of spy
Verb
  • Eve’s Hollywood, gossipy and full of anecdote captures a more recent version of the conversations Arzner used to overhear at her father’s Hollywood restaurant.
    — Anne E. Fernald, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Amabile’s wife, Serena Pitt, can be overheard asking him as another staple is clipped out and placed into a plastic container.
    — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of overhear

Browse Nearby Words

wires
wiretap
wiretapped
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

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