spied; spying
1
: to watch secretly usually for hostile purposes
2
: to catch sight of : see
3
: to search or look for intensively
—usually used with out
spy out places fit for vending … goods—
S. E. Morison
S. E. Morison
plural spies
1
: one that spies:
a
: one who keeps secret watch on a person or thing to obtain information
b
: a person employed by one nation to secretly convey classified information of strategic importance to another nation
also
: a person who conveys the trade secrets of one company to another
2
: an act of spying
Examples of spy in a Sentence
Verb
They were accused of spying for a foreign government.
I spy a motel off in the distance, so let's spend the night there.
Noun
He was a spy for the CIA.
My coworker is a spy for the boss.
Recent Examples on the Web
Josh Meyer, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
But everything would suddenly shift after a woman named Ariana spied Foxy’s photo.
—Tj MacIas, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
The astrophysicist, who keeps close tabs on orbital traffic, said that on the day of the interview (April 4), at least three objects had returned from space — two of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites and a 43-year-old Russian spy satellite called Kosmos 1340.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spy
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Verb
Although not a household name like the CIA or FBI, the NSA is a vast and extremely high-tech spying agency that specializes in gathering signals intelligence – more commonly known as electronic eavesdropping - around the world, in space and more recently in cyberspace.
—Josh Meyer, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025
But everything would suddenly shift after a woman named Ariana spied Foxy’s photo.
—Tj MacIas, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2025
Noun
What to know about the complex, long-simmering civil war
Dearlove served as Britain's top spy between 1999 and 2004, when Tony Blair was prime minister.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
The astrophysicist, who keeps close tabs on orbital traffic, said that on the day of the interview (April 4), at least three objects had returned from space — two of SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellites and a 43-year-old Russian spy satellite called Kosmos 1340.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spy
Cite this Entry
“Spy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spy. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spy
2 of 2 noun
plural spies
1
: one that watches the movement or actions of others especially in secret
2
: a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
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