surveil
[ser-veyl]
- to place under surveillance.
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Origin of surveil
First recorded in 1965–70; back formation from surveillance
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for surveilling
Contemporary Examples
Included in these documents were Hong Kong and Chinese IP addresses that the NSA was surveilling.
Al-Ruqai is specifically charged with surveilling the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in preparation for the attack.
FBI agents are said to have observed him surveilling his alleged target on August 9.
Eventually, the organization was surveilling much of the American left.
Investigators had been surveilling Zazi for quite some time.
surveil
- to observe closely the activities of (a person or group)
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Word Origin
C20: back formation from surveillance
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for surveilling
surveil
v.
1904, back-formation from surveillance. Sometimes also surveille. Related: Surveilled; surveilling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper