spy
noun
a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs.
had been spying
-
past perfect progressiveof spy.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Western intelligence agencies and Microsoft said on May 24 that Volt Typhoon, a group they described as state-sponsored, had been spying on a range of U.S. critical infrastructure organisations, from telecommunications to transportation hubs.
From Reuters ● Jul. 21, 2023
He also denied that he had been spying nefariously on people.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2023
In 2021, the Pegasus Project, an investigation by a consortium of international journalists, revealed that the Indian government had been spying on more than 300 people, including journalists, activists, and politicians.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2022
Or that the National Security Agency had been spying on virtually every Afghan with a cell phone.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2021
Fred and George, who had been spying on the Slytherin team, had seen for themselves the speed of those new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
