Washington (CNN) Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday defended his use of the word "spying" to describe surveillance of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, telling lawmakers his use of the word during a hearing last month was done "off the cuff" and that he wasn't using it pejoratively.

"I'm not going to abjure the use of the word 'spying.' I think, you know, my first job was in CIA. And I don't think the word 'spying' has any pejorative connotation at all," Barr said, responding to a question from Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He continued: "'Spying,' I think 'spying' is a good English word that in fact doesn't have synonyms because it is the broadest word incorporating really all forms of covert intelligence collection."

Barr said the Department of Justice did a review of press usage of the term and found that it was commonly used in the media, including when referring to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court as the "spy court."

Challenged by Whitehouse that the term was commonly used by the DOJ, Barr retorted, "It's commonly used by me."

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