spy
Americannoun
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spies
plural
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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.
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a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others.
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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.
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the act of spying.
verb (used without object)
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spies,
present (3rd person singular)
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spied,
past participle, past
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spying
present participle
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to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often followed by on orupon ).
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to act as a spy; engage in espionage.
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to be on the lookout; keep watch.
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to search for or examine something closely or carefully.
verb (used with object)
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spies,
present (3rd person singular)
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spied,
past participle, past
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spying
present participle
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to catch sight of suddenly; espy; descry.
to spy a rare bird overhead.
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to discover or find out by observation or scrutiny (often followed byout ).
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to observe (a person, place, enemy, etc.) secretively or furtively with hostile intent.
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to inspect or examine or to search or look for closely or carefully.
noun
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a person employed by a state or institution to obtain secret information from rival countries, organizations, companies, etc
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a person who keeps secret watch on others
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obsolete a close view
verb
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to keep a secret or furtive watch (on)
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(intr) to engage in espionage
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(tr) to catch sight of; descry
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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spysimple
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spiessimple
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have spiedperfect
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has spiedperfect
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am spyingprogressive
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are spyingprogressive
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is spyingprogressive
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have been spyingperfect progressive
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has been spyingperfect progressive
Past
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spiedsimple
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had spiedperfect
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was spyingprogressive
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were spyingprogressive
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had been spyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of spy
First recorded in 1200–50; (for the verb) Middle English spien, shortened from espien, espyen “to espy” ( see espy); (for the noun) Middle English, shortened from espy “a spy,” from Old French espie
Explanation
To spy is to secretly watch someone. It’s not recommended unless you’re actually a spy, a person who is hired by a government or organization to keep tabs on enemies. You might imagine a spy working for the CIA or the KGB, but there are also military spies who infiltrate their opponents' armies to get information, commit sabotage, or steal technology. Private businesses sometimes employ spies as well, to collect information about competitors. As a verb, to spy is to do what a spy does—or simply to see something: "I spy brownies on the kitchen counter!"
Vocabulary lists containing spy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"My hair, my makeup, my shoes, my jewellery, my purse, my gloves, everything. And just from creating that exterior for me, he gave me the sense of a spy lady."
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Arriving in theaters this fall after multiple splashy film festival premieres, it announces the 38-year-old actress, best known for playing a bedraggled spy in the Apple TV+ series Slow Horses, as a potential Oscar contender.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
South Korea's spy agency estimated last year that around 2,000 North Korean troops had been killed in the war, while a more recent assessment put the number killed or wounded at around 6,000.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Eva Marie Saint, a graceful actor best known for her Oscar-winning film debut in “On the Waterfront” and for her turn as a sultry spy in another 1950s film classic, “North by Northwest,” died Tuesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
This is a story about spies and spy catchers.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
According to Reuters, some of the data contains details about officials' job assignments, including sensitive work against Chinese spies, Russian intelligence and drug cartels.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
And while that last claim is somewhat breathless and overblown, the story told by Mr. Kerbaj teems with spies and spy catchers who could have slithered off the pages of John le Carré.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Lyukshin was trained in "information warfare" by senior Russian spies and his details matched those of EL.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The Emmy-nominated, darkly comic thriller about a unit of disgraced British spies — starring Gary Oldman, Jack Lowden and Kristen Scott Thomas — remains sharp and propulsive, one of the best series on TV.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
He’d been with MI6 for twenty years, and like many great spies, he was of uncertain age and ethnicity.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Frank Bisignano spied on colleagues when he worked at JPMorgan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Bisignano, who also is the chief of Social Security, denied he ever spied on co-workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Saints were kicked out of the Championship play-offs in May after admitting they spied on three clubs during the campaign.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The man who runs the IRS spied on colleagues while working at JPMorgan.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
When the first gosling poked its grey-green head through the goose’s feathers and looked around, Charlotte spied it and made the announcement.
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
Saints were expelled from the Championship play-offs in May after admitting spying on training sessions involving Oxford United, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough before the play-off semi-final.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
French national Martin Ryan has been pardoned and his release from prison ordered by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev after he was jailed on charges of spying.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
He said AfD lawmakers in Thuringia had recently requested information from his ministry about drone defenses and Russian spying activities using a procedure that forces the government to respond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
A crowd gathered outside Flock’s conference, in the shadow of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, carrying signs and chanting “Block Flock!” and “Stop spying on us!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Someone, possibly an American officer spying for the British, told Marks enough details about the operation for Marks to be able to seize Brewster, Austin Roe, and two other Patriots working with Roe.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
