wiretapping 1 of 2

Definition of wiretappingnext

wiretapping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wiretap

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
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 The New York Times withheld some details in advance about the US Bay of Pigs invasion, and for months delayed a story on national security administration warrantless wiretapping during the Bush administration after White House officials said the story’s publication would endanger American lives. Max Tani, semafor.com, 4 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wiretapping
Noun
  • Such opportunistic eavesdropping is challenging, because Starlink is consistently optimizing for its primary satellite Internet service by turning beams on and off, or sometimes switching beams as the fast-moving satellites talk to many different users, Kassas explained.
    Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 11 May 2026
  • Greylord was a watershed in its use of eavesdropping devices and a mole to obtain evidence instead of relying on wrongdoers to become government informants.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 4 May 2026
Verb
  • Meanwhile, capri pants offer the more trend-forward pairing this summer, tapping into the ongoing fascination with early-2000s dressing and proportions.
    Lauren Fisher, Footwear News, 17 May 2026
  • The viral moment of the banquet, captured on video and rebroadcast endlessly across Weibo, was Lei Jun walking up to a seated Musk, tapping him on the shoulder, and crouching half-down to take a selfie with him on a Xiaomi 17 Pro.
    Drew Bernstein, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Noun
  • Greg Thomas, chief executive of ChainSentry, a firm that conducts gray-market surveillance of semiconductor supply chains, said export controls have created an artificial scarcity that has made advanced chips almost irresistible to smugglers.
    Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 May 2026
  • The detonation of a nuclear weapon in low-Earth orbit would likely destroy or incapacitate thousands of satellites, disabling critical military and civilian networks providing surveillance and communication services.
    Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 13 May 2026
Verb
  • Although pest control companies offer lethal solutions such as carpenter bee traps or chemical treatments, the best way to keep carpenter bees from bugging you is using stained, sealed, varnished or treated wood in building projects.
    Sarah Linn April 24, Sacbee.com, 24 Apr. 2026
  • So, all the things people were yelling about with Southwest weren’t bugging me.
    Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 21 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • That means, for example, an aircraft capable of flying 1,500 nautical miles (1,726 miles, 2,778 km) on standard fuel could potentially exceed 1,950 nautical miles (2,244 miles, 3,611 km) using the new superfuel, while reconnaissance aircraft could remain on station up to 30% longer.
    David Szondy May 17, New Atlas, 17 May 2026
  • According to the New York Times, she was assigned to an RC-135 reconnaissance airplane crew.
    Peter D'Abrosca, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026
Verb
  • But as examples like those above illustrate, there’s little reason for companies to resort to outright spying like this, because users simply can’t wait to divulge the most intimate details of their minds and bodies voluntarily.
    Nate Anderson, ArsTechnica, 14 May 2026
  • Everything about this, particularly the spying part, seems positivily Hitchcockian.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 May 2026
Noun
  • This granular account of the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, written by a former senior official, draws on internal records and firsthand observations to depict how the government agency was systematically taken apart.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 18 May 2026
  • Here are several other observations after the Twins lost two of three to the Brewers over the weekend.
    Dan Hayes, New York Times, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring the rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius, which has sickened multiple passengers.
    Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 18 May 2026
  • Five years from now, monitoring your brain health passively and continuously will seem as normal as tracking your heart rate.
    Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wiretapping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wiretapping. Accessed 21 May. 2026.

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