double agent

American  

noun

1. a person who spies on a country while pretending to spy for it.

2. a spy in the service of two rival countries, companies, etc.

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double agent British  

noun

1. a spy employed by two mutually antagonistic countries, companies, etc

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Etymology

Origin of double agent

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

One police officer, Evelyn Tardiff, has long served as a double agent within the mobster’s circle, and Armand has grown unsure of her loyalties, fearing that “he no longer knew whose side she was on.”

From The Wall Street Journal

His KGB contact, who believes him to be a double agent, raises the stakes by asking him for information on Faith—though she has encouraged Gabriel to accept Soviet payments to dupe the Russians.

From The Wall Street Journal

The bond market had created what amounted to a double agent—a character who seemed to represent the interests of investors when he better represented the interests of Wall Street bond trading desks.

From Literature

He was now in the rare position of being a double agent.

From Literature

Framed as a confession by the child of a Frenchman and a Vietnamese woman, the narrator is a double agent with an unforgettable voice recalling Graham Greene and Vladimir Nabokov.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• undercover agent