spy

[ spahy ]

/ spaɪ /

noun, plural spies.

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.

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

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.

the act of spying.

verb (used without object), spied, spy·ing.

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

to act as a spy; engage in espionage.

to be on the lookout; keep watch.

to search for or examine something closely or carefully.

verb (used with object), spied, spy·ing.

to catch sight of suddenly; espy; descry: to spy a rare bird overhead.

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

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

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

Origin of spy

1200–50; (v.) Middle English spien, aphetic variant of espien to espy; (noun) Middle English, aphetic variant of espy a spy < Old French espie

OTHER WORDS FROM spy

spy·ship, noun out·spy, verb (used with object), out·spied, out·spy·ing. su·per·spy, noun, plural su·per·spies. un·spied, adjective

un·spy·ing, adjective

Words nearby spy

sputniks, sputter, sputtering, sputum, spuyten duyvil creek, spy, spy on, spy out, spy wednesday, spyglass, spyhole

British Dictionary definitions for spy out (1 of 2)

spy out

verb (tr, adverb)

to discover by careful observation to spy out a route

to make a close scrutiny of to spy out the land

British Dictionary definitions for spy out (2 of 2)

spy

/ (spaɪ) /

noun plural spies

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

a person who keeps secret watch on others

obsolete a close view

verb spies, spying or spied

(intr usually foll by on) to keep a secret or furtive watch (on)

(intr) to engage in espionage

(tr) to catch sight of; descry

Word Origin for spy

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

spy

noun, plural spies.

verb (used without object), spied, spy·ing.

verb (used with object), spied, spy·ing.

Origin of spy

OTHER WORDS FROM spy

Words nearby spy

British Dictionary definitions for spy out (1 of 2)

verb (tr, adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for spy out (2 of 2)

noun plural spies

verb spies, spying or spied

Word Origin for spy

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

spy

noun, plural spies.

verb (used without object), spied, spy·ing.

verb (used with object), spied, spy·ing.

Origin of spy

OTHER WORDS FROM spy

Words nearby spy

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for spy out (1 of 2)

verb (tr, adverb)

British Dictionary definitions for spy out (2 of 2)

noun plural spies

verb spies, spying or spied

Word Origin for spy

British Dictionary definitions for spy out (1 of 2)