espionage
[ es-pee-uh-nahzh, -nij, es-pee-uh-nahzh ]
/ ˈɛs pi əˌnɑʒ, -nɪdʒ, ˌɛs pi əˈnɑʒ /
noun
the act or practice of spying.
the use of spies by a government to discover the military and political secrets of other nations.
the use of spies by a corporation or the like to acquire the plans, technical knowledge, etc., of a competitor: industrial espionage.
Origin of espionage
1785–95; < French
espionnage, Middle French
espionage, equivalent to
espionn(er) to spy (derivative of
espion spy < Italian
spione < Germanic; akin to German
spähen to look out) +
-age
-age
OTHER WORDS FROM espionage
non·es·pi·o·nage, nounWords nearby espionage
Example sentences from the Web for espionage
British Dictionary definitions for espionage
espionage
/ (ˈɛspɪəˌnɑːʒ, ˌɛspɪəˈnɑːʒ, ˈɛspɪənɪdʒ) /
noun
the systematic use of spies to obtain secret information, esp by governments to discover military or political secrets
the act or practice of spying
Word Origin for espionage
C18: from French
espionnage, from
espionner to spy, from
espion spy, from Old Italian
spione, of Germanic origin; compare German
spähen to
spy