surveil

American  

[ser-vayl] / sərˈveɪl /

verb (used with object)

surveilled, surveilling

1. to place under surveillance.

---

surveil British  

/ sɜːˈveɪl /

verb

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

---

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

Australia's military uses the small uncrewed boats to quietly surveil its vast northern coastline, powered by a solar mast and wind.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Marshals started to surveil the apartment building Tuesday and, around 8 p.m., knocked on the apartment door, Clark said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

It added that the use of robots made outside the US could allow "malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots."

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Frank Bisignano directed staff to use software to snoop in email of rivals and surveil work of employees; Bisignano, who also heads Social Security, denied he ever spied on co-workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

The eight intermediaries are not a definitive list of firms that help companies surveil customers, but just those who the FTC reached out to for the study.

From Salon ● May 18, 2026

The ensuing camera shots—we all know the vocabulary—tell us that the three of them are being surveilled from above and followed at street level into the L.A. crowds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

“People were being surveilled by the FBI, and they’d pay family members or people they knew to survey them.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Students are going back to the most surveilled campuses in American history.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

She added: "I've treated patients who think their mum and dad are trying to poison their food, people who think they're going to be attacked or killed or are being constantly surveilled."

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

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 Cory Doctorow

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

In November, Kurdish-led and U.S. forces arrested a senior Islamic State leader at Al Hol whom they had been surveilling for days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

“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

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---