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.
spied
-
past participleof spy.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
-
past tense formof spy.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
spynouna person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs.
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.
Frank Bisignano, head of the IRS and Social Security Administration, allegedly spied on fellow executives while co-COO of JPMorgan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The man who runs the IRS spied on colleagues while working at JPMorgan.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Then, somehow, through the sea of jerseys, Cormac's 14-year-old son spied somebody he recognised.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
Most intriguing: A Krispy Kreme truck was spied pulling up to the arena.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
For a happy moment, I thought he’d spied me from his boat and had come on purpose to say hello.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
