eavesdropping
noun
eaves·drop·ping
ˈēvz-ˌdrä-piŋ 
: the act of secretly listening to something private
Highly sophisticated means of electronic eavesdropping were developed and put into use, largely uncontrolled by the law.—
Wayne R. LaFave & Jerold H. Israel
Wayne R. LaFave & Jerold H. IsraelFor a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.—Rick Riordan
Rick RiordanExamples of eavesdropping in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Encryption not only helps prevent eavesdropping but also ensures that sensitive conversations—like financial transactions or legal discussions—remain private.
2.
—Ruchir Brahmbhatt, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
And there is an extraordinary and often controversial degree of cooperation between the countries’ intelligence agencies, as demonstrated in the Falklands and Iraq wars, in ongoing counterterrorism operations, and most recently in the PRISM eavesdropping program leaked by Edward Snowden.
—Peter Martin, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2016
The Parcae project revolutionized electronic eavesdropping Ivan Amato NRO
In the early 1970s, the Cold War had reached a particularly frigid moment, and U.S. military and intelligence officials had a problem.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 Jan. 2025
There is also additional information on how this works to protect governments from nation state eavesdropping on the iOS platform.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
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.
Ruchir Brahmbhatt, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
And there is an extraordinary and often controversial degree of cooperation between the countries’ intelligence agencies, as demonstrated in the Falklands and Iraq wars, in ongoing counterterrorism operations, and most recently in the PRISM eavesdropping program leaked by Edward Snowden.
—Peter Martin, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2016
The Parcae project revolutionized electronic eavesdropping Ivan Amato NRO
In the early 1970s, the Cold War had reached a particularly frigid moment, and U.S. military and intelligence officials had a problem.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 Jan. 2025
There is also additional information on how this works to protect governments from nation state eavesdropping on the iOS platform.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
Cite this Entry
“Eavesdropping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eavesdropping. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share