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.
have been spying
-
present perfect progressiveof spy.present perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
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.
The two sides have been spying on each other since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2024
People have been spying on one another since the dawn of time; the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the British Empire, the Persian Empire, the Soviet Union, Saddam Hussein, Vladimir Putin, they all have done it.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2023
And in 2018, the Memphis Police Department was found to have been spying on activists.
From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2023
He would not say who could have been spying on the premier and whether any foreign powers or Spanish groups were suspected of being behind it.
From Reuters ● May 2, 2022
“They could have been spying on the people that lived there. Maybe that really was East River....”
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
