surveil

verb

sur·​veil sər-ˈvāl How to pronounce surveil (audio)
surveilled; surveilling

transitive verb

: to subject to surveillance

Examples of surveil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Among the major sticking points that created headaches for Johnson and his fellow GOP leaders was a portion of the law called Section 702, which allows U.S. authorities to surveil communications of foreigners outside the United States. Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024 The groups asked for protections against AI being used to surveil workers and for safeguards on workers’ voice, likeness, performance and writing style. Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Mar. 2024 Court files show the county hired private investigators to surveil Myles, videotaping him and his lawyers in a possible effort to dig up dirt or induce a settlement. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2024 The stork took flight, did a loop to surveil the boat and perched on a lamppost near the bank. Safak Timur Ivor Prickett, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024 The contract signaled a marked jump from previous plans for the California Highway Patrol to take over installation and operation of a few hundred cameras that would surveil Oakland’s major thoroughfares. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2024 Police in Gresham found that Plympton was living in Troutdale and began to surveil him. Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2024 His preparations went so far as to surveil an unidentified school and join the U.S. Army to get the training necessary to become a more effective killer, prosecutors said. Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 29 Feb. 2024 Additional harassment included traveling to Natick to surveil the couple and installing a GPS tracking device on their car, prosecutors said. Antonio Planas, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surveil.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from surveillance

First Known Use

1884, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of surveil was in 1884

Dictionary Entries Near surveil

Cite this Entry

“Surveil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveil. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on surveil

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!