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

For 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

Examples of eavesdropping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ratings on this measure are down significantly in the Trump era, although in many cases the slide began during the Obama presidency, coinciding with revelations about NSA eavesdropping and other similar stories. —Richard Wike, Foreign Affairs, 8 Jan. 2020

Later, Marlinspike met with the company’s other cofounder, Jan Koum, who had grown up in Soviet Ukraine under the constant threat of KGB eavesdropping. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 31 July 2016

Instead, expect closed-door negotiations where no one’s eavesdropping. —Greg Engle, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024

Telecommunications firms have a legal obligation to allow federal authorities to have access to electronic information if there is a court order for the eavesdropping. —Dan De Luce, NBC News, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above