surveillance
Americannoun
-
surveillances
plural
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a watch kept over a person, group, etc., especially over a suspect, prisoner, or the like.
The suspects were under police surveillance.
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continuous observation of a place, person, group, or ongoing activity in order to gather information.
video cameras used for covert surveillance.
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attentive observation, as to oversee and direct someone or something.
increased surveillance of patients with chronic liver disease.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of surveillance
1790–1800; < French, equivalent to surveill ( er ) to watch over ( sur- sur- 1 + veiller < Latin vigilāre to watch; see vigil) + -ance -ance
Explanation
Many times, a person suspected of something illegal by the authorities is placed under surveillance, meaning he or she is closely watched to see if their suspicions are well-founded. If you break down the word surveillance you get the prefix sur, from the French word for "over" and the root veiller, meaning "to watch." All of which is a roundabout way of saying that if you are under surveillance, you are being closely watched — usually by the authorities, and usually not for a good reason! Those surveillance cameras in banks and stores are put there in the hopes of both preventing crimes and recognizing criminals after a crime has been committed.
Vocabulary lists containing surveillance
John F. Kennedy's Address to the American People on the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
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This Week In Words: August 1–6, 2020
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Matthew O’Brien told jurors that surveillance images, cellphone location records and fire science would establish that Rinderknecht intentionally ignited brush on a Pacific Palisades hillside in the first minutes of New Year’s Day 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Rogers, 63, served in the US Army and in the FBI before entering Congress and emerging as a key advocate of US surveillance policies.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
One could be forgiven if memories of the cool-internet era have grown fuzzier over the years, now that the web has become a self-regulating machine in an indomitable surveillance system and all.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2026
The following month, Noboa said Ecuador would operate two MQ-9 Reaper drones, a platform used extensively by the United States for surveillance and strike missions in conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
In September, a team of FBI "Super Gs," or specially trained surveillance agents, landed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, near Howard's home.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
And with the increased use of the Internet and so that changed the level of technical complexity of the surveillances that the FBI wanted to do.
From MSNBC ● May 30, 2019
"I have conducted surveillances for Triangle in England, in South America, Miami, California, Hong Kong, Peru, Alaska. I travel all over the world doing these surveillances and nothing really changes," Sullivan said.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2015
I am still being surveilled, but now it’s much harder to tie all those small surveillances back to me and ads don’t follow me around.
From Slate ● Mar. 2, 2015
Del Rosario said the latest Chinese activity in Scarborough Shoal was discussed at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, where fresh surveillances pictures were shown.
From Reuters ● Sep. 4, 2013
No. I never had the occasion, but I've seen guardsmen run remote surveillances, and even exert control when necessary.
From The Players by Steve Solomon
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
