Definitions for surveillance
sərˈveɪ ləns, -ˈveɪl yənssur·veil·lance

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.3 / 3 votes

1. surveillancenoun

   close observation of a person or group (usually by the police)

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. surveillancenoun

   Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion

2. surveillancenoun

   Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example

3. surveillancenoun

   Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.

4. surveillancenoun

   In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surveillance

   Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV), or interception of electronically transmitted information like Internet traffic. It can also include simple technical methods, such as human intelligence gathering and postal interception. Surveillance is used by citizens for protecting their neighborhoods. And by governments for intelligence gathering - including espionage, prevention of crime, the protection of a process, person, group or object, or the investigation of crime. It is also used by criminal organizations to plan and commit crimes, and by businesses to gather intelligence on criminals, their competitors, suppliers or customers. Religious organisations charged with detecting heresy and heterodoxy may also carry out surveillance.Auditors carry out a form of surveillance.A byproduct of surveillance is that it can unjustifiably violate people's privacy and is often criticized by civil liberties activists. Liberal democracies may have laws that seek to restrict governmental and private use of surveillance, whereas authoritarian governments seldom have any domestic restrictions. Espionage is by definition covert and typically illegal according to the rules of the observed party, whereas most types of surveillance are overt and are considered legitimate. International espionage seems to be common among all types of countries.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surveillance

   Surveillance is the close observation or systematic monitoring of a person, group, activities, or location for the purpose of information gathering, typically in order to prevent or detect crime, or to ensure safety, security, and compliance with rules or laws. This can be carried out directly by humans (such as private investigators, law enforcement officers, or security personnel) or indirectly using technology such as CCTV cameras, GPS tracking, drones, or data mining technology.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.5 / 2 votes

1. Surveillancenoun

   oversight; watch; inspection; supervision

2. Etymology: [F., fr. surveiller to watch over; sur over + veiller to watch, L. vigilare. See Sur-, and Vigil.]

FreebaseRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Surveillance

   Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people for the purpose of influencing, managing, directing, or protecting. Surveillance can be the observation of individuals or groups by government organizations but can also relate to disease surveillance, which monitors the progress of a disease in a community while not directly observing individuals. The word surveillance is the French word for "watching over"; "sur" means "from above" and "veiller" means "to watch". The inverse of surveillance is sousveillance. The word surveillance may be applied to observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, or interception of electronically transmitted information. It may also refer to simple, relatively no- or low-technology methods such as human intelligence agents and postal interception. Surveillance is very useful to governments and law enforcement to maintain social control, recognize and monitor threats, and prevent/investigate criminal activity. With the advent of programs such as the Total Information Awareness program and ADVISE, technologies such as high speed surveillance computers and biometrics software, and laws such as the Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act, governments now possess an unprecedented ability to monitor the activities of their subjects.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surveillance

   sur-vel′yans, n. a being vigilant or watchful: inspection.—adj. Surveill′ant. [Fr.,—surveiller—sur, over—L. super, veiller, to watch—L. vigilāre.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surveillance

   The systematic observation of aerospace, surface, or subsurface areas, places, persons, or things, by visual, aural, electronic, photographic, or other means. See also air surveillance; satellite and missile surveillance; sea surveillance.

Matched Categories

1. • Police Work

How to pronounce surveillance?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say surveillance in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of surveillance in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of surveillance in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of surveillance in a Sentence

1. Dr Stephen:

   It's basically a virtual mast, so you could imagine surveillance operations, rescue missions at sea or on land, surveillance of large complexes like nuclear power stations.

2. James Scott:

   You'll have the right to be angry about Vault 7 only after you boycott dragnet surveillance data providers like Google, Microsoft, Skype, Facebook and LinkedIn. The true threat is coming from the private sector surveillance profiteers.

3. Sean Spicer:

   I think there's no question that the Obama administration, that there were actions about surveillance and other activities that occurred in the 2016 election, the President used the word wiretaps in quotes to mean, broadly, surveillance and other activities.

4. Antti Oulasvirta:

   If you have surveillance, there's no reported positive effects, there's a really interesting theory that we build on that sort of tells why the Internet of Things and surveillance are sort of attacking us strongly.

5. James Scot:

   The gaping wound in America’s national security is without a doubt, the unregulated dragnet surveillance capitalists.

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