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tappable

tappable

7.2
A phone or line someone can listen to secretly
  • adjective
  • /ˈtæpəbl/
translation icon : interceptable
  • The device is tappable.

Examples

  • The company upgraded its systems to prevent them from being easily tappable.

  • The judge determined that the phone line was tappable under the current warrant.

  • Sensitive conversations should not be held on a tappable device.

  • Is this phone tappable by the authorities?

  • The police monitored her phone because they believed it was tappable under the new surveillance laws.

  • Authorities are concerned that many new technologies could be tappable, allowing for unauthorized data access.

  • Some smartphones are designed to be tappable, enabling law enforcement to intercept communications.

How Monitorable

tappable
7.2
unmonitored
2 4.6

Surface Forms

tappable positive

Morphology

tappable = tap (transparent) = tap + able

The adjective is formed by adding '-able' to the verb 'tap' in the sense 'to wiretap', yielding 'able to be tapped (monitored)'.

Etymology

Tappable comes from the verb tap, which was used for secretly connecting to a phone line ('wiretap') to 'listen in' on conversations. So a tappable line or device is one that can be monitored by others.