MI6

American

[em-ahy-siks] / ˈɛmˌaɪˈsɪks /

noun

the government's secret intelligence service.

MI6 British

abbreviation

Military Intelligence, section six; a former official and present-day popular name for the intelligence and espionage agency of the British Government

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of MI6

M(ilitary) I(ntelligence, Section) 6

Compare meaning

How does mi6 compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

MI5 vs. MI6

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.

A serial romance scammer, who told victims he worked for the BBC and MI6, has been jailed for more than five years.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

Last week, families of Manchester Arena attack victims wrote to the prime minister urging him to ensure the so-called Hillsborough Law applied to individual employees of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026

Since MI6 was short on cash, the CIA funded Mitrokhin’s resettlement in Britian in exchange for access to his notes and transcriptions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

At the British embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, he was taken seriously by MI6, which was astounded by the wealth of information the former archivist had to offer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

MI6 invited George to join its espionage campaign against the Nazis.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023