wiretap
/ˈwaɪətæp/US/ˈwaɪɚtæp/
wiretap noun: a connection installed on a telephone line or other communications system in order to allow a third party to conduct covert surveillance of conversations.
Noun
wiretap (plural wiretaps)
- A connection installed on a telephone line or other communications system in order to allow a third party to conduct covert surveillance of conversations.
Verb
wiretap (third-person singular simple present wiretaps, present participle wiretapping, simple past and past participle wiretapped)
- To install or to use such a connection.
Forms of wiretap
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | wiretaps |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | wiretaps |
| present participle | wiretapping |
| past participle | wiretapped |
| past | wiretapped |
Origin of wiretap
Back-formation from wiretapper; or else wire + tap
Words formed from wiretap
Questions about wiretap
- What does wiretap mean?
- Wiretap means a connection installed on a telephone line or other communications system in order to allow a third party to conduct covert surveillance of conversations.
- What part of speech is wiretap?
- Wiretap can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce wiretap?
- Wiretap is pronounced /ˈwaɪətæp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of wiretap?
- The plural of wiretap is wiretaps.
Words near wiretap in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: wiretap (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-wiretap.wav.
Cite this entry: “wiretap.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/wiretap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.