espy
verb (used with object)
to see at a distance; catch sight of.
espy
1 American
[ih-spahy]
/ ɪˈspaɪ /
verb (used with object)
espies,
present (3rd person singular)
espied,
past participle, past
espying
present participle
Espy
2
American
[es-pee]
/ ˈɛs pi /
noun
espy
British
/ ɪˈspaɪ /
verb
Espy
Scientific
/ ĕs′pē /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
espysimple
-
espiessimple
-
have espiedperfect
-
has espiedperfect
-
am espyingprogressive
-
are espyingprogressive
-
is espyingprogressive
-
have been espyingperfect progressive
-
has been espyingperfect progressive
Past
-
espiedsimple
-
had espiedperfect
-
was espyingprogressive
-
were espyingprogressive
-
had been espyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of espy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English espien, espyen, from Old French espier, ultimately from Germanic; compare German spähen “to look out”; see also skeptic, speculate
Explanation
To espy something is to see it, or glimpse it. If you look through binoculars long enough, you might espy a colorful bird. Though you can use the verb espy whenever you want to say "see," "spot," or "notice," it's primarily a literary word that you'll mostly find in books. One character might espy another strolling in a garden, or a pipe-smoking detective might espy a clue behind a parlor door. Espy comes from the Old French espiier, "observe, watch or spy on," from a Germanic root.
Vocabulary lists containing espy
A Midsummer Night's Dream
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"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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"Of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And sympathy for the people whom we espy is born out of that complicity, a compassion that stems from the false sense that we are observing people’s most private moments without permission, undetected.
From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2015
A traveller upon the sea she fared, fleeting on with foam about her throat over the waves, over the ocean-streams with wreathéd prow, until they might espy the Geatish cliffs and headlands that they knew.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 2, 2014
I did espy one couple who had obtained a turkey.
From Time Magazine Archive
From Chipping Norton, one can espy an extraordinary edifice, half-castle, half-factory, called the Bliss tweed mill.
From Time Magazine Archive
She gave up straining to espy, past the apparently real, something denser.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
“We mixed our teams, and everyone just kind of attacked it,” Espy said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Espy described the situation as “very grim,” with many high-rises leveled or pancaked in the tourist destination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Walking alongside the beach, Brittany Brown and Tatiana Espy, two best friends, explain that they are on a health and fitness journey, which led them to the audiobook walking club.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
Brown and Espy say the community element, trading book titles, is what keeps them returning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
I looked over at Joe and Espy, who pretended not to pay attention.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
A man who stops for gas a sign espies That says a dog out back has quite a knack.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2020
Behind peppy songs like “Singin’ in the Rain” and “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” Mr. Mac espies a frantic need to forget those horrors.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2015
Bechan, her mahout, espies a small creeper which is highly esteemed by the natives as a febrifuge and is considered a good tonic for elephants.
From Life in an Indian Outpost by Casserly, Gordon
At this moment, however, the leader espies a small tuft of grass on the face of the desert, and, reasoning that water must be flowing somewhere underneath, inspires his exhausted followers to new exertions.
From The Moral Instruction of Children by Adler, Felix
The thirsty wayfarer, after jogging for hours under a burning sky, at length espies a pond—yes, it must be water—it looks too natural for him to be mistaken.
From Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet by Marryat, Frederick
Leave it to van Gogh to turn a tree he espied in the landscape into a profound mystery, bringing new life to an ancient symbol.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2023
Discerning blurry outlines in Himalayan mountain zones, gullible visitors uttered: “Just look! We’ve finally espied proof! The abominable snowman eXists!”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2022
As opposed to when I espied Mr. McConnell on my flight in yesterday, now he is dressed to the nines, as befits both his home state and the event.
From Washington Times ● May 10, 2017
Eventually, many months after that issue of Sports Illustrated had been consigned to the stacks, an editor espied the image again and thought it worth consideration.
From Slate ● May 22, 2015
When Lysa espied Catelyn, she welcomed her with a sisterly embrace and a moist kiss on the cheek.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
The couple got into rare books quite by accident, recalled David Bauman, a gentle, soft-spoken man in his 70s, after espying some at Freeman, the auction house in Philadelphia where they lived as newlyweds.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2019
The third moral outrage I imagine the future espying is our cruelty to the ill and aged in our fetish for surgical intervention.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2016
Only John Melia, a spokesman for Local 1-2 of the Utility Workers Union of America, the union representing the locked-out workers, grows impassioned, in the manner of a kamikaze pilot espying a large aircraft carrier.
From New York Times ● Jul. 24, 2012
Flush with unaccustomed cash and astute at espying loopholes in the law's vigilance, he rambled across the country using a collection of aliases.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then espying the branch of a tree and taking hold of it, he raised himself and left the stream.
From The Gospel of Buddha Compiled from Ancient Records by Paul Carus by Carus, Paul
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
