phone hacking

American  

noun

1. an act or instance of gaining access to a phone's voicemail, email, text messages, etc., without authorization from the phone's owner.

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Other Word Forms

• phone hacker
  noun

Etymology

Origin of phone hacking

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

phone hacking

Judge Matthew Nicklin dismissed claims that reporters and investigators working for the Daily Mail had engaged in phone hacking and unlawful information gathering, in a ruling by the High Court Tuesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Last year, he also settled in his court action against Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloid publisher, which agreed to pay him "substantial damages" for privacy breaches, including phone hacking.

From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026

Two UK tabloids accused of phone hacking and other "unlawful information gathering" against Prince Harry and six high-profile figures insisted Tuesday they had relied on "legitimate" sources for their stories.

From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026

He said ANL "knew they had skeletons in their closet" because the company investigated the use of phone hacking between 2003-05, finding evidence in stories that the technique had been used.

From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026

The nascent electrical engineers responsible for building and maintaining this system saw their activity as similar in spirit to phone hacking.

From Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Sam Williams