spy

[spahy]

noun

plural

spies 

1. 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.

2. a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others.

3. a person who seeks to obtain confidential information about the activities, plans, methods, etc., of an organization or person, especially one who is employed for this purpose by a competitor.

   an industrial spy.

4. the act of spying.

verb (used without object)

spied, spying 

1. to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often followed by on orupon ).

2. to act as a spy; engage in espionage.

3. to be on the lookout; keep watch.

4. to search for or examine something closely or carefully.

verb (used with object)

spied, spying 

1. to catch sight of suddenly; espy; descry.

   to spy a rare bird overhead.

2. to discover or find out by observation or scrutiny (often followed byout ).

3. to observe (a person, place, enemy, etc.) secretively or furtively with hostile intent.

4. to inspect or examine or to search or look for closely or carefully.

spy

/ spaɪ /

noun

1. a person employed by a state or institution to obtain secret information from rival countries, organizations, companies, etc

2. a person who keeps secret watch on others

3. obsolete,  a close view

verb

1. to keep a secret or furtive watch (on)

2. (intr) to engage in espionage

3. (tr) to catch sight of; descry

Other Word Forms

• spyship noun
• outspy verb (used with object)
• superspy noun
• unspied adjective
• unspying adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spy¹

First recorded in 1200–50; (for the verb) Middle English spien, shortened from espien, espyen “to espy” ( espy ); (for the noun) Middle English, shortened from espy “a spy,” from Old French espie

Word History and Origins

Origin of spy¹

C13 spien, from Old French espier, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German spehōn, Middle Dutch spien

Example Sentences

But a string of spying incidents, sabotage attacks and airspace intrusion in Europe, many of them attributed to Moscow by Western intelligence, suggest it could be preparing to pounce sooner.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

You’ll spy a small train coaster, a mini Ferris wheel and a circus area, complete with a large statue of a clown that would tower over guests.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The film, based on the book by Ian Fleming, was produced by Albert Broccoli and starred Sean Connery as the British spy.

Read more on BBC

Belgium’s defense minister told the press the drones near military bases were “definitely for spying.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

With basic tech and little human oversight, Chinese spies apparently exploited Anthropic’s Claude Code.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agent 
• detective 
• informer 
• investigator www.thesaurus.com
• mole 
• operative 
• secret agent 
• secret service 
• undercover agent www.thesaurus.com