MI6

American

[em-ahy-siks] / ˈɛmˌaɪˈsɪks /

noun

the government's secret intelligence service.

MI6 British

abbreviation

Military Intelligence, section six; a former official and present-day popular name for the intelligence and espionage agency of the British Government

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of MI6

M(ilitary) I(ntelligence, Section) 6

Compare meaning

How does mi6 compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

MI5 vs. MI6

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 Foreign Office, which oversees MI6, said it would not comment on intelligence matters.

From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026

At the British embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, he was taken seriously by MI6, which was astounded by the wealth of information the former archivist had to offer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

Since MI6 was short on cash, the CIA funded Mitrokhin’s resettlement in Britian in exchange for access to his notes and transcriptions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026

This is made up of the DGSE, which looks at matters overseas, and is the French equivalent of the UK's MI6 or the US's CIA.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

“Trust me,” said Monty, who’d kept the hotel’s MI6 connection a secret.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023