eavesdrop
[verb]
Synonyms: listen in, earwig (informal), monitor, overhear, snoop (informal), spy

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English Thesaurus: listen, pay attention, eavesdrop, overhear, tune in (to something), ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

eaves‧drop /ˈiːvzdrɒp $ -drɑːp/ verb (past tense and past participle eavesdropped, present participle eavesdropping) [intransitive]
[Date: 1600-1700; Origin: eavesdropper 'someone who stands close to a wall, where rainwater drops from the eaves, in order to listen secretly']
to deliberately listen secretly to other people’s conversations ⇒ overhear:
There was Helena eavesdropping outside the door.
—eavesdropper noun [countable]

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

listen to pay attention to what someone is saying or to a sound that you hear:
I didn’t hear the answer, because I wasn’t listening when she read it out.
He listened carefully to every word I said.
pay attention to listen carefully to what someone is saying:
I nodded to show I was paying attention.
She was tired and wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.
eavesdrop to secretly listen to someone else’s conversation by standing near them, hiding behind a door etc:
I caught him eavesdropping on our conversation.
They spoke in quiet voices which made it hard to eavesdrop.
overhear to hear someone say something, especially accidentally:
I overheard him say something about wanting to move house.
Excuse me! I couldn’t help overhearing that you were planning a trip to Thailand.
tune in (to something) to listen to a radio programme, or to someone using a radio transmitter:
Over a million people tune in to the programme each week.
Tune in at the same time next week for the next episode.
The equipment could be used by criminals to tune in to police broadcasts.
tap to connect a piece of electronic recording equipment to a telephone system so that you can listen to people’s telephone conversations:
The police had tapped the phones of all three suspects.
The President had to resign over an illegal phone-tapping operation.
bug to hide a small piece of electronic recording equipment in someone’s room, car, office etc in order to listen secretly to what is said there:
Security agents bugged their offices and managed to get some evidence against them.
Wells was convinced the house was bugged and insisted on playing loud music while we talked.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲