dead drop

American  

noun

1. a prearranged secret spot where one espionage agent leaves a message or material for another agent to pick up.

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Example Sentences

They laid in wait for Hanssen to attempt another dead drop and eventually he did.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2023

An arrest team took Hanssen into custody after catching him making a "dead drop" of classified materials in a park in suburban Virginia, the FBI says.

From Reuters • Jun. 5, 2023

Although Mr. Toebbe and his wife are from Maryland, the case is being held in West Virginia because that is where the first dead drop was made.

From Washington Times • Aug. 17, 2022

A few weeks later, court papers say, the Toebbes traveled to West Virginia and left a data card hidden in a peanut butter sandwich at a dead drop.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2022

Their weapons were the tradecraft of spies—the dead drop, the brush pass, the one-time pad—and their missions almost always had the same goal: to obtain vital information about the enemy.

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