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
The psychological manipulation runs deeper than simple eavesdropping.
—Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
That sort of possible eavesdropping by bad actors has been a concern with public scanner traffic for decades.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2025
However, being able to attack such a system with malicious, system-harmful intent is quite different from eavesdropping, which, by necessity, requires the attacker to exfiltrate data from the environment.
—Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
In addition to child molestation, Whaley is charged with six counts of creation of child pornography and 13 counts of eavesdropping and surveillance in Forsyth County, investigators said.
—Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
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Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025
That sort of possible eavesdropping by bad actors has been a concern with public scanner traffic for decades.
—Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2025
However, being able to attack such a system with malicious, system-harmful intent is quite different from eavesdropping, which, by necessity, requires the attacker to exfiltrate data from the environment.
—Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
In addition to child molestation, Whaley is charged with six counts of creation of child pornography and 13 counts of eavesdropping and surveillance in Forsyth County, investigators said.
—Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
Cite this Entry
“Eavesdropping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eavesdropping. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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