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.
My colleague Joe Barrett reported on a jury-duty scam where attackers spied on the victim’s texts, web searches and location.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Forrest, the lawyer, said Bisignano never spied on co-workers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Saints were kicked out of the Championship play-offs in May after admitting they spied on three clubs during the campaign.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The man who runs the IRS spied on colleagues while working at JPMorgan.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
A couple of times I even spied him wearing earbuds, which was probably illegal.
From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee
