wiretap

[ wahyuhr-tap ]

noun

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

verb (used with object)

, wire·tapped, wire·tap·ping.

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)

, wire·tapped, wire·tap·ping.

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

adjective

1. pertaining to or obtained by wiretap.

wiretap

/ ˈwaɪəˌtæp /

verb

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

Derived Forms

• ˈwireˌtapper, noun
• ˈwireˌtapping, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of wiretap¹

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from wiretapper

Example Sentences

On Hoover’s desk sat a notebook containing all the outstanding wiretaps the Bureau then had running.

From Time

Theoharis obtained tens of thousands of documents related to illegal wiretaps, mail openings and break-ins.

From Washington Post

There don’t seem to be any secret wiretaps or defectors who are telling all.

From MIT Technology Review

The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s guide to recording police notes that in places with one-party-consent wiretap laws—38 US states and the District of Columbia—you can freely record audio.

From MIT Technology Review

The government got what it needed from a wiretap of defendant Basaaly Saeed Moalin's phone, not from the mass collection of metadata.

From Ars Technica

After a wiretap at the home of a Civella relative produced devastating evidence of hidden ownership, the FBI moved in.

From The Daily Beast

Tipped off by the wiretap, federal agents in another incident pulled over a locked freezer truck, loaded with 26 people.

From The Daily Beast

Helpfully, he's fled to Yemen, where that nation's intelligence service can freely wiretap him.

From The Daily Beast

After all, to get a FISA judge to grant a warrant, you at least need to know the name of the person you want to wiretap.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• care
• control
• examination
• inspection
• scrutiny
• supervision
• vigilance