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.
was spying
-
past progressiveof spy.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
She asked Pauken if he was spying on China or working for the Central Intelligence Agency, to which he said no.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
In their lives, as Adams tells it, Rhodes had his family living in constant fear that the government was spying on them and that the apocalypse was always just months away.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2024
Later that year, Mr. Akbari was arrested and held for four months on accusations that he was spying for Britain, according to his brother and two family friends.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2023
The Journal has denied that Gershkovich was spying and demanded the immediate release of its "trusted and dedicated reporter".
From Reuters ● Apr. 7, 2023
I broke my arm because I was spying and Mama told me not to.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
