espionage

[es-pee-uh-nahzh, -nij, es-pee-uh-nahzh]

noun

1. the act or practice of spying.

2. the use of spies by a government to discover the military and political secrets of other nations.

3. the use of spies by a corporation or the like to acquire the plans, technical knowledge, etc., of a competitor.

   industrial espionage.

espionage

/ ˌɛspɪəˈnɑːʒ, ˈɛspɪəˌnɑːʒ, ˈɛspɪənɪdʒ /

noun

1. the systematic use of spies to obtain secret information, esp by governments to discover military or political secrets

2. the act or practice of spying

Other Word Forms

• nonespionage noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of espionage¹

First recorded in 1785–95; from French espionnage, Middle French espionage, from espionn(er) “to spy” (derivative of espion “a spy,” from Italian spione, from Germanic ) + -age -age; espy

Word History and Origins

Origin of espionage¹

C18: from French espionnage, from espionner to spy, from espion spy, from Old Italian spione, of Germanic origin; compare German spähen to _spy

Example Sentences

Also, hackers backed by nation states are also accounting for more attacks, whether to carry out espionage, steal IP, spread misinformation, or cause disruption, or even seek financial gain on their own account.

From BBC

Earhart's disappearance during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe spawned numerous theories - from a simple crash due to fuel exhaustion to more elaborate claims of Japanese capture or US government espionage.

From BBC

He said police told him that the arrest related to espionage and rendering services to a foreign country, the paper reports.

From BBC

The ruling said the espionage was carried out "over a very long period of time" and involved sharing "important diplomatic intelligence".

From BBC

Lindsay and Craig Foreman, from East Sussex, were on a motorcycle trip around the world when they were detained by Iranian authorities in January and later charged with espionage – something the family denies.

From BBC

Related Words

• intelligence