Bug
Bug verb - Tap a telephone or telegraph wire to get information.
Usage example: Is this hotel room bugged?
Eavesdrop
Eavesdrop verb - Listen without the speaker's knowledge.
Show all Definitions
Synonyms for Eavesdrop
Bug is a synonym for eavesdrop in snoop topic. You can use "Bug" instead a verb "Eavesdrop", if it concerns topics such as listen in, listen without permission. informal substitute
Nearby Words: eavesdropping, eavesdropper
Common collocations
| someone | bug someone | eavesdrop someone |
Both words in one sentence
-
In the pilot episode, the coffee pot in Hogan's office is actually a phone tap, allowing Hogan and his men to eavesdrop on Klink's phone conversations, though afterwards, it was strictly a bug in his office (with the mic hidden in the picture on the wall of Hitler giving a speech).
Source: Series / Hogan's Heroes -
Incredibly Obvious Bug: So obvious it's not obvious, Snowden reveals that modern desk telephones are capable of being remotely turned into a "hot mic", allowing a person to eavesdrop on the room even when the receiver is hung up.
Source: Film / Citizenfour -
Literal Surveillance Bug: The Romulan Tal Shiar (their state intelligence agency) use tiny crawling robotic bugs to eavesdrop on a closed meeting of Romulan and Federation dignitaries, in Taking Wing.
Source: Literature / Star Trek: Titan
Cite this Source
Eavesdrop and Bug. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/bug/eavesdrop
Bug & Eavesdrop. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/bug/eavesdrop>.
Eavesdrop or Bug. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/bug/eavesdrop.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "bug" and "eavesdrop" have occurred on timeline