spyware
Americannoun
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Computers. software that is installed surreptitiously and gathers information about an internet user's browsing habits, intercepts the user's personal data, etc., transmitting this information to a third party.
a parent's use of spyware to monitor a child's online activities.
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tools that are used to conduct espionage.
sophisticated spyware that rivals that of the CIA.
noun
Etymology
Origin of spyware
Vocabulary lists containing spyware
Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Computer Science and Technology - High School
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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 government's tracking system relies on an amalgam of public and private information sifted, sorted and packaged by contractors that include Palantir Technologies, Deloitte, Japanese conglomerate NEC and smaller spyware specialists.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
The incredible double life of a spyware salesman turned spy.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026
Some of those companies are based in the U.S., while others, like Israeli spyware maker Paragon, are based overseas.
From Salon • Mar. 12, 2026
Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi said on Wednesday that he fears for his life after authorities installed spyware on his phone during his arrest last year.
From Barron's • Feb. 18, 2026
It was a locked-down spyware version of Internet Explorer, Microsoft's crashware turd that no one under the age of 40 used voluntarily.
From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
