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
From Chipping Norton, one can espy an extraordinary edifice, half-castle, half-factory, called the Bliss tweed mill.
From Time Magazine Archive
I did espy one couple who had obtained a turkey.
From Time Magazine Archive
We could not espy Pomp, living or dead.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
“The hope is, as the debris falls, you may be entombed but you won’t be injured,” Espy said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
“We know these guys on a first-name basis,” said Trey Espy, assistant L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Espy said rescue workers from USA-1 had pulled three survivors from the debris, including a 9-month-old baby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
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
Then from his bed he 'soon' arose,45 And to his pallace gate he goes; Full little then this beggar knowes When she the king espies.
From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume IV by Various
If he espies a cloud gathering he immediately begins to smoke tobacco with great vehemence, walking about with a quick pace and throwing the puffs towards it with all the force of his lungs.
From The History of Sumatra Containing An Account Of The Government, Laws, Customs And Manners Of The Native Inhabitants by William Marsden
The anxious father espies a merchant wending slowly along the highway and hails him.
From Legends & Romances of Brittany by Lewis Spence
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
He also misstated that Leifer’s editor espied the photo and submitted it to the “Pictures of the Year” contest.
From Slate ● May 29, 2015
We came upon another detachment of rebels espied down a far street, obscured by smoke.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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
"Oh, look at this," cried the President, espying "Little Phil" Sheridan's gold-plated Winchester.
From Time Magazine Archive
One day the big strange dog of a passing butcher espying the engineman’s messenger with the tin can about his neck, ran after and fell upon him.
From Lives of the Engineers The Locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson by Samuel Smiles
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.
