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

Think of Mike Buckley as a kind of double agent.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2026

And in 2018, the UK said Russian double agent Sergei Skripal was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in the British cathedral city of Salisbury.

From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026

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 • Nov. 12, 2025

Gordievsky, a colonel in Russia's KGB, spent many years as a double agent, passing vital intelligence to both Britain's MI6 and MI5.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2025

The former double agent now morphed into the model prisoner, charming the Scrubs' guards and administrators and making friends among its inmates.

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

Related Words

• undercover agent