View synonyms for wiretap

wiretap

[ wahyuhr-tap ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

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

, wire·tapped, wire·tap·ping.

to obtain (information, evidence, etc.) by tapping telephone or telegraph wires:
to wiretap conversations.
to listen in on by means of a wiretap:
to wiretap a telephone; to wiretap a conversation.

, wire·tapped, wire·tap·ping.

wiretap

/ ˈwaɪəˌtæp /

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

Origin of wiretap¹

First recorded in 1950–55; back formation from wiretapper

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

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

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

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.

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