spy
spy Lexical Profile
spy Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person employed by a government, intelligence agency, or organization to secretly obtain confidential information about another country, rival, or competitor.
"The historical novel follows a diplomat who secretly worked as a spy during the nineteenth century."
A person who secretly watches or monitors the activities and movements of others.
"The children joked that their curious neighbor was a spy because he was always peering through his curtains."
• verb
To secretly collect and report confidential information about the activities, plans, or operations of a rival, organization, or foreign power.
"Corporate investigators discovered that a former contractor had been hired to spy on the company's research laboratory."
To discern, catch sight of, or notice someone or something, especially from a distance or by looking carefully.
"Walking along the shoreline, she managed to spy a rare seabird nesting among the coastal cliffs."
• Rhymes for spy
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English spien, borrowed from Old French espier ('to watch, observe'), which itself derives from a Frankish or Germanic root related to Old High German spehon ('to look out for') and is cognate with the Latin specere ('to look at').