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Surveillance means watching someone or something.[1][2] It may be secret, and many methods are used including telephone tapping to listen to the person's calls and putting an electronic listening device, a bug, into a room.
Governments and the military have built large facilities designed to listen in to communications between other governments and military groups. For example the U.S. has a large base at Pine Gap near Alice Springs, Australia, which listens to communication signals from all over the world.
Eavesdropping is also surveillance, but often without much planning. It means listening to things you aren't supposed to hear. It is a deliberate act, rather than simply overhearing someone else talking.
- ↑ /sərˈveɪ.əns/ or /sərˈveɪləns/
- ↑ OED