spy

American  

[spahy] / spaɪ /

noun

plural

spies

1. a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs.

2. a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others.

3. a person who seeks to obtain confidential information about the activities, plans, methods, etc., of an organization or person, especially one who is employed for this purpose by a competitor.

   an industrial spy.

4. the act of spying.

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verb (used without object)

spied, spying

1. to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often followed by on orupon ).

2. to act as a spy; engage in espionage.

3. to be on the lookout; keep watch.

4. to search for or examine something closely or carefully.

verb (used with object)

spied, spying

1. to catch sight of suddenly; espy; descry.

   to spy a rare bird overhead.

2. to discover or find out by observation or scrutiny (often followed byout ).

3. to observe (a person, place, enemy, etc.) secretively or furtively with hostile intent.

4. to inspect or examine or to search or look for closely or carefully.

spy British  

/ spaɪ /

noun

1. a person employed by a state or institution to obtain secret information from rival countries, organizations, companies, etc

2. a person who keeps secret watch on others

3. obsolete a close view

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verb

1. to keep a secret or furtive watch (on)

2. (intr) to engage in espionage

3. (tr) to catch sight of; descry

Other Word Forms

• outspy verb (used with object)
• spyship noun
• superspy noun
• unspied adjective
• unspying adjective

Etymology

Origin of spy

First recorded in 1200–50; (for the verb) Middle English spien, shortened from espien, espyen “to espy” ( espy ); (for the noun) Middle English, shortened from espy “a spy,” from Old French espie

Example Sentences

“The Russians said: look, they’re all spying on us, so we need our own infrastructure, our own internet.”

From The Wall Street Journal

What with her being my mom’s best friend, you’d think she was maybe spying for my parents, but more often, her presence was like wearing a life preserver.

From Literature

Russia on Monday kicked out a British diplomat over allegations he was working as a spy -- charges rejected by London as "complete nonsense".

From Barron's

Russia has ordered a British diplomat to leave the country over allegations of spying, the latest in a series of expulsions of embassy staff from both sides.

From BBC

Posing as recruiters on the online professional networking platform, Chinese spies would initially request paid reports before later soliciting non-public or even classified information.

From Barron's

Related Words

• agent
• detective
• informer
• investigator
• mole
• operative
• secret agent
• secret service
• undercover agent