spy

/spaɪ/

/spaɪ/

Other forms: spies; spied; spying

To spy is to secretly watch someone. It’s not recommended unless you’re actually a spy, a person who is hired by a government or organization to keep tabs on enemies.

You might imagine a spy working for the CIA or the KGB, but there are also military spies who infiltrate their opponents' armies to get information, commit sabotage, or steal technology. Private businesses sometimes employ spies as well, to collect information about competitors. As a verb, to spy is to do what a spy does—or simply to see something: "I spy brownies on the kitchen counter!"

Definitions of spy

1. noun

   (military) a secret agent hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or by a business to obtain industrial secrets from competitors
   synonyms: undercover agent

   examples:

   Margarete Gertrud Zelle

   Dutch dancer who was executed by the French as a German spy in World War I (1876-1917)

   types:

   counterspy, mole

   a spy who works against enemy espionage

   double agent

   a spy who works for two mutually antagonistic countries

   espionage agent

   someone employed to spy on another country or business competitor

   foreign agent

   a spy for a foreign country

   infiltrator

   someone who takes up a position surreptitiously for the purpose of espionage

   sleeper

   a spy or saboteur or terrorist planted in an enemy country who lives there as a law-abiding citizen until activated by a prearranged signal

   type of:

   intelligence agent, intelligence officer, operative, secret agent

   a person secretly employed in espionage for a government
2. noun

   a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people
   “my spies tell me that you had a good time last night”

   types:

   snoop, snooper

   a spy who makes uninvited inquiries into the private affairs of others

   shadow, shadower, tail

   a spy employed to follow someone and report their movements

   eavesdropper

   a secret listener to private conversations

   type of:

   looker, spectator, viewer, watcher, witness

   a close observer; someone who looks at something (such as an exhibition of some kind)
3. verb

   watch, observe, or inquire secretly
   synonyms: sleuth, snoop, stag

   type of:

   monitor, supervise

   keep tabs on; keep an eye on; keep under surveillance
4. verb

   catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes
   synonyms: sight

   types:

   descry, espy, spot

   catch sight of

   detect, discover, find, notice, observe

   discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of

   catch out, find out

   trap; especially in an error or in a reprehensible act

   sense

   detect some circumstance or entity automatically

   instantiate

   find an instance of (a word or particular usage of a word)

   trace

   discover traces of

   see

   observe as if with an eye

   type of:

   comprehend, perceive

   become aware of through the senses
5. verb

   catch sight of
   synonyms: descry, espy, spot

   type of:

   sight

   catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes
6. verb

   secretly collect sensitive or classified information; engage in espionage
   “spy for the Russians”

   type of:

   enquire, inquire, investigate

   conduct an inquiry or investigation of