wiretap
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to obtain (information, evidence, etc.) by tapping telephone or telegraph wires.
to wiretap conversations.
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to listen in on by means of a wiretap.
to wiretap a telephone; to wiretap a conversation.
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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wiretapsimple
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wiretapssimple
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have wiretappedperfect
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has wiretappedperfect
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am wiretappingprogressive
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are wiretappingprogressive
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is wiretappingprogressive
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have been wiretappingperfect progressive
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has been wiretappingperfect progressive
Past
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wiretappedsimple
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had wiretappedperfect
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was wiretappingprogressive
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were wiretappingprogressive
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had been wiretappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wiretap
First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from wiretapper
Explanation
To wiretap is to secretly listen in on someone's phone conversation. In some cases, the FBI will use a wiretap to investigate a serious federal crime. A wiretap is either the act of surveillance with a listening device or the device itself: "They put a wiretap on the mob boss's home phone, but he always uses a cellphone." As a verb, wiretap means to use such a device: "The government can't wiretap someone without a warrant." Since the invention of the telephone, law enforcement has used wiretaps — originally from the sense of tapping (obtaining information from) a telephone wire.
Vocabulary lists containing wiretap
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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:
Silverman also said police had conducted a wiretap operation in the case, but did not disclose the nature of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
In fact, conspirators were overheard on a wiretap saying they “wouldn’t trust Joe” to agree to their scheme.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
The Swedish government has proposed new legislation that would allow police to wiretap children under the age of 15 in an attempt to grapple with the problem.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2025
James Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump in 2017, kept a framed FBI letter requesting a wiretap on Dr. King in his office as a "reminder of the bureau's capacity to do wrong."
From Salon ● Feb. 16, 2025
The prosecutor’s office, following Terryl’s instinct, used wiretap evidence to secure a conviction.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
There are cases where there are millions of pages and the defendant needs significant time to review millions of pages of emails, text messages, and listen to hundreds of hours of wiretaps.
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2026
In its 700-page decision overturning the convictions, the court also found that some of the wiretaps used to open a formal investigation into Uribe had been obtained illegally.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2025
These mainly concerned the use of wiretaps of conversations involving "lawyers, journalists, bishops and even members of parliament".
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2025
They do not, however, include the agency’s nefarious wiretaps of King that are scheduled for release in 2027.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2025
The only evidence of Nixon’s shady dealings came from bugs and wiretaps, which Johnson certainly did not wish to make public.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
The anti-corruption bureau shared part of a wiretapped conversation as part of its case and said six more people had been identified as suspects.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
The intelligence officers scribbled notes on wiretapped phone calls and typed thousands of pages of reports on opposition activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
The anti-corruption agency then gradually released a series of videos featuring wiretapped conversations of those implicated in the scheme.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
People I knew and I, myself, were wiretapped and followed by FBI and military intelligence agents.
From Salon ● May 6, 2025
There's no psi on us but we may be wiretapped by BEB—lots of law offices are and trainees connected with them.
From The Psilent Partner by Peterson, John Victor
Four people have been found guilty and given jail terms by a Greek court after a wiretapping scandal shook the country in 2022.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2026
The highly publicized indictment against Williamson was sprinkled with references to her phone calls and text messages, indicating that federal investigators were likely relying on wiretapping.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
Assuming they’d followed the law, arranging such surveillance would have involved a number of legal and technical steps, including securing a wiretapping warrant.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2025
Federal law is focused on preventing wiretapping, mandating that at least one party to the call knows that it’s being recorded.
From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2024
Saidy suggested that there was an actual plot to keep Fischer from becoming World Champion, and this involved the wiretapping of his parents’ phone.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
