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 Words From

• non·espi·o·nage 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

These kinds of attacks have been used in sophisticated espionage campaigns aimed at cloning websites to trick victims into handing over their passwords, which hackers use to get access to company networks to steal information.

From TechCrunch

Blake spent nearly a decade leading a double life before he was arrested, tried and sentenced to 42 years in prison for espionage.

From Washington Post

I would push back a little bit on the use of the term corporate espionage as opposed to competitive intelligence.

From Fortune

In June 2018 a jury finds him guilty of espionage, and he is later sentenced to 20 years in prison.

From MIT Technology Review

The move marks an escalation of regulatory involvement in the espionage charges, which also triggered probes by Swiss prosecutors.

From Fortune

That is why I visited my relatives in Iran in 2011, when I was unjustly arrested and charged with espionage.

From The Daily Beast

In 2011, he was arrested while visiting his grandmother in Iran, charged with espionage, and sentenced to death.

From The Daily Beast

The crime-fighting penguins, says the trailer, are “masters of the skies, espionage, and aerial assault.”

From The Daily Beast

The Spies Next Door By Matt Mendelsohn - Washingtonian Great espionage stories are hiding in neighborhoods all over Washington.

From The Daily Beast

Whatever skills it takes to succeed in espionage or racketeering, I patently lack.

From The Daily Beast

Espionage we can still command—the best, perhaps, in Europe—because here we use a different class of material.

From Project Gutenberg

By its construction, the cell of Bezenecq the Rich gave special facilities for such espionage.

From Project Gutenberg

By this means he not only kept his senses keyed to a high point, but made his espionage nearer perfect than his friend had done.

From Project Gutenberg

He will see a whole civil service turned into a bureau of information, a department of espionage.

From Project Gutenberg

The custom of espionage has made him suspect that others are as watchful as himself.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• intelligence