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
Raasch remains in custody on 12 counts of videotaping an undressed person and three counts of eavesdropping.
—James Taylor, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
The 37-year-old Sacramento man was arrested on suspicion of three counts of eavesdropping, a felony charge, along with 12 counts of misdemeanor photographing or videotaping an undressed person in a private area, jail records show.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 27 Mar. 2026
Anadolu via Getty Images Apple users are starting to receive their share of a $95 million cash payout to settle a class action case alleging Siri eavesdropping.
—Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Only a few other animals, like parrots and apes, have demonstrated a knack for this kind of eavesdropping.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
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.
James Taylor, CBS News, 28 Mar. 2026
The 37-year-old Sacramento man was arrested on suspicion of three counts of eavesdropping, a felony charge, along with 12 counts of misdemeanor photographing or videotaping an undressed person in a private area, jail records show.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 27 Mar. 2026
Anadolu via Getty Images Apple users are starting to receive their share of a $95 million cash payout to settle a class action case alleging Siri eavesdropping.
—Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Only a few other animals, like parrots and apes, have demonstrated a knack for this kind of eavesdropping.
—Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for eavesdropping
Cite this Entry
“Eavesdropping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eavesdropping. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
