wire-tap

A detective places a wire-tap on the telephone line.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • An act of secretly listening to someone's telephone conversations: "wire-tap" refers to the practice of monitoring or recording telephone calls without the knowledge or consent of the participants, typically for investigative or espionage purposes.
   • A device used for such monitoring: "wire-tap" can also mean the equipment or apparatus used to intercept and listen to telephone communications.

2. Verb:

   • To secretly listen to someone's telephone conversations: The core meaning — to install a device or use a method to monitor or record telephone calls without the permission of the parties involved.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The police obtained a warrant for a wire-tap on the suspect's phone. (A legal authorization to secretly monitor the suspect's calls.)
  • The investigation relied heavily on evidence from a wire-tap. (Evidence gathered through secret telephone monitoring.)

• Verb:

  • The agency was accused of illegally wire-tapping journalists. (Secretly monitoring journalists' phone calls without legal justification.)
  • They decided to wire-tap the office line to catch the informant. (To install a monitoring device on the office telephone.)

Advanced Usage

• "to conduct a wire-tap": to carry out the act of secretly monitoring telephone calls.

  • The intelligence unit conducted a wire-tap on the foreign diplomat's residence. (They performed secret telephone surveillance.)

• "wire-tap evidence": information or proof obtained through secret telephone monitoring.

  • The court ruled that the wire-tap evidence was inadmissible because the warrant was invalid. (The evidence from the secret phone monitoring could not be used in court.)

Variants and Related Words

• Wire-tapping (n): the act or practice of secretly listening to telephone conversations.

  • Wire-tapping without a court order is illegal in most countries. (The practice of secret phone monitoring is prohibited.)

• Wire-tapper (n): a person who engages in wire-tapping.

  • The wire-tapper was caught and charged with invasion of privacy. (The person who secretly monitored phone calls was arrested.)

Synonyms

• Bugging: the act of secretly listening to conversations using a hidden microphone or device.

  • Bugging a room is similar to wire-tapping a phone. (Both involve covert listening.)

• Eavesdropping: secretly listening to a private conversation without permission.

  • Eavesdropping on a phone call is essentially wire-tapping. (Both involve unauthorized listening.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Wire-tap into: to secretly connect to a communication line for monitoring.
  • They managed to wire-tap into the company's main telephone line. (They secretly connected to the line to listen to calls.)

Related Idioms

• Tap the phones: to secretly listen to telephone conversations.

  • The detective ordered his team to tap the phones of the suspects. (To begin wire-tapping the suspects' phones.)

• Listen in on: to secretly hear a conversation.

  • The government was accused of listening in on citizens' private calls. (To wire-tap or eavesdrop on calls.)