wiretap

American  

[wahyuhr-tap] / ˈwaɪərˌtæp /

noun

1. an act or instance of tapping telephone or telegraph wires for evidence or other information.

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verb (used with object)

wiretapped, wiretapping

1. to obtain (information, evidence, etc.) by tapping telephone or telegraph wires.

   to wiretap conversations.

2. to listen in on by means of a wiretap.

   to wiretap a telephone; to wiretap a conversation.

verb (used without object)

wiretapped, wiretapping

1. to tap telephone or telegraph wires for evidence, information, etc.

adjective

1. pertaining to or obtained by wiretap.

wiretap British  

/ ˈwaɪəˌtæp /

verb

1. to make a connection to a telegraph or telephone wire in order to obtain information secretly

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Other Word Forms

• wiretapper noun
• wiretapping noun

Etymology

Origin of wiretap

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from wiretapper

Example Sentences

The intelligence officers scribbled notes on wiretapped phone calls and typed thousands of pages of reports on opposition activities.

From The Wall Street Journal

Schmidt and the company are accused of violating the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, and a section of the state penal code that prohibits wiretapping.

From Los Angeles Times

The notifications are routine in wiretap investigations once surveillance ends, but the letters set off a wave of panic across California’s political power structure.

From Los Angeles Times

The anti-corruption agency then gradually released a series of videos featuring wiretapped conversations of those implicated in the scheme.

From Barron's

Nabu has been releasing new snippets of its investigation and wiretaps every day and on Tuesday it promised more would come.

From BBC

Related Words

• consider
• examine
• explore
• inspect
• interrogate
• probe
• question
• review
• scrutinize
• search
• study