surveil

American  

[ser-veyl] / sərˈveɪl /

verb (used with object)

surveilled, surveilling

1. to place under surveillance.

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surveil British  

/ sɜːˈveɪl /

verb

1. to observe closely the activities of (a person or group)

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Etymology

Origin of surveil

First recorded in 1965–70; back formation from surveillance

Explanation

To surveil is to spy on someone, the way a television private eye sits in her car and uses binoculars to surveil the show's villain. The noun surveillance came first, from the French surveiller, "to oversee or watch." If you were to surveil someone, you'd keep a close eye on them, monitoring everything they do. These days, that means keeping track of their online activity as well as their phone calls and physical movement. It's usually authority and governmental figures doing the surveillance — although if a company wants to sell you something, they just might surveil your internet history.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

surveil surveilled surveilling

Critics worry that the quieter, nimbler drones will be used to surveil the public with little oversight.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2026

Anthropic doesn’t want its products used to surveil Americans or create autonomous machines of war.

From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026

They are just data brokers doing business, they say, and it’s not their fault if what they gather and sell is used to subdue and surveil people.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2026

More recently, student protests over price increases of mobile-phone data plans didn’t gain traction because of the fear of repression, as intelligence services surveil college activities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026

It is alleged the group used black taxis, Deliveroo drivers and a fake NHS vehicle in order to surveil him.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2024

In the indictment, the government alleges that protesters blocked ICE facilities and surveilled and harassed government employees while communicating in a Signal group chat, which they say was used to identify government vehicles.

From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026

A UK Border Force officer surveilled and investigated Chinese citizens in Britain as part of a "shadow policing operation" with its "tentacles" reaching from Hong Kong, a court has heard.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

"We're already being surveilled by billions of smartphones, city camera networks and smart devices that we willingly placed in our homes."

From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026

Stein-Erik Soelberg spent months talking to the popular chatbot about how he believed he was being surveilled by a shadowy group—and suspected his 83-year-old mother, Suzanne Eberson Adams, was part of the conspiracy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 11, 2025

I'm a senior at Cesar Chavez high in San Francisco's sunny Mission district, and that makes me one of the most surveilled people in the world.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory

Whether it’s vanquishing assailants or surreptitiously surveilling enemies, daemons provide significant advantages for their masters.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

He spoke as cheers echoed off the skyscrapers dotted around the World Trade Center, where Knicks gathered alongside National Guard troops surveilling the area.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

"At night, I'd often hear a buzzing sound. I was in secondary school and didn't realise it then, but these were planes surveilling our neighbourhood," Ali tells the BBC.

From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026

After three days of surveilling the site from orbit, the unit determined it was a Russian meeting spot for planning operations, members said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

“They’re watching us in here, too? Are we allowed to use the bathroom privately, or are they surveilling our bodily functions as well?”

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed