surveillance
Americannoun
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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
- countersurveillance noun
- surveillant adjective
Etymology
Origin of surveillance
1790–1800; < French, equivalent to surveill ( er ) to watch over ( sur- sur- 1 + veiller < Latin vigilāre to watch; vigil ) + -ance -ance
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.
Goriunova, a cultural theorist and digital curator based in London, examines how these constructed figures and abstractions shape surveillance, governance and everyday life.
From Los Angeles Times
The company said this month it would explore a deal with Massachusetts-based Ondas Holdings to produce systems for drone defense, surveillance and reconnaissance in Europe.
Police publicly released a blurry snapshot of a rotund man in a dark jacket and hat, and the surveillance footage, sparking a flood of online speculation.
Soon, a systems malfunction foils the team’s surveillance of their targeted compound.
A Los Angeles County resident is still looking for her missing cat after an Amazon delivery driver was seen on surveillance video appearing to take the animal from her home earlier this month.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
