Thesaurus results for WIRETAPPING

wiretapping 1 of 2

noun

as in eavesdropping

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wiretapping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wiretap

as in tapping

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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 wiretapping

Noun

Lawrence, Massachusetts, Mayor Brian DePeña, who is already facing unrelated federal criminal charges, was arraigned Tuesday on more than a dozen state wiretapping charges. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 Later that year, he was charged with wiretapping, and although authorities did not offer more details, local journalists have reported that the alleged wiretapping was meant to monitor the investigation of his mother. — James Lasdun, New Yorker, 26 May 2026 Under the plan, FISA, which allows warrantless wiretapping of noncitizens, would be extended for three years, with new oversight guardrails and penalties for abusing the spy tool. — Hailey Bullis, The Washington Examiner, 26 Apr. 2026 Michael Gagnon was charged with unlawful wiretapping and violating an abuse prevention order. — Colleen Cronin, Boston Herald, 14 Apr. 2026 The two men planted themselves at the bedside of the ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft to block Bush administration officials from making an end run to get Ashcroft’s permission to reauthorize a secret no-warrant wiretapping program. — Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2026 In the decades since, multiple presidents have relied on that congressional mandate to justify a grab bag of military counterterrorism activities, including the detention of people who had not been convicted of a crime at Guantanamo Bay and the secret wiretapping of Americans. — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 4 Mar. 2026 So prosecutors are being forced to try other methods to establish who fired the gun, including phone tracing, interviews and wiretapping. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 22 Feb. 2026 Past disputes have included Australian intelligence wiretapping accusations involving Indonesia's former president, the execution of Australian drug smugglers and tensions over people smuggling. — Niniek Karmini, Arkansas Online, 8 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiretapping

Noun

Many state wiretap and eavesdropping laws are written around whether a private communication was intercepted or its contents were acquired — not simply whether a conventional audio recording was created.

— MacKenzie Sigalos,Annie Palmer, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2026
OpenAI’s forthcoming device, rumored to be a portable smart speaker, could encounter similar eavesdropping concerns.

— Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of eavesdropping

Verb

The couple were sold, tapping Buck without interviewing anyone else.

— Elizabeth Fazzare, Architectural Digest, 22 Oct. 2026
As a Canadian company, Abrupt has a track record in international co-productions, production financing and tapping tax incentives and other soft money subsidies to get its documentaries made.

— Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of tapping

Noun

Criminal charges against the ICE officer who drove the vehicle are being considered by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, after surveillance footage contradicted ICE’s claim that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle.

— Lekan Oyekanmi, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Witness statements and video surveillance showed Lindo drawing a black handgun during an argument involving several individuals, including a professional UFC fighter.

— Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of surveillance

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
However, in-flight cabin etiquette is only one part of what’s bugging travelers this summer.

— Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of bugging

Noun

The reconnaissance of Phobos by MMX could also help future mission planners consider whether the moon is a suitable location for human exploration, perhaps as a stopover between Earth and Mars, Kawakatsu said.

— Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 20 Oct. 2026
Then, a friend told her about Holy Family in Springfield, which prompted her reconnaissance mission.

— Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of reconnaissance

Verb

To support their request to detain Alfozan, the government pointed to a case where former Twitter employees were charged with spying for the Saudi government.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
For additional privacy guidance, see our CyberGuy article, Are Apple devices spying?

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of spying

Verb

The researchers say future deployments of the current prototype would be able to remain at sea for weeks at a time, monitoring environmental conditions.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
With public safety power shutoffs underway across much of the region, fire crews are closely monitoring the situation, warning that even small grass fires can quickly spread under dangerous fire conditions.

— Kayla Moeller, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of monitoring

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

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Synonyms of wiretapping

noun

verb

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