Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who secretly collects information concerning the enemies of a government or group.
- noun One who secretly collects information for a business about one or more of its competitors.
- noun One who secretly keeps watch on another or others.
- intransitive verb To watch or observe secretly.
- intransitive verb To discover by close observation.
- intransitive verb To catch sight of; see.
- intransitive verb To engage in espionage.
- intransitive verb To investigate or observe something, especially in secret.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To discover at a distance, or from a position of concealment; gain sight of; see; espy.
- To discover by close search or examination; gain a knowledge of by artifice.
- To explore; view, inspect, or examine secretly, as a country: usually with out.
- To ask; inquire; question.
- To search narrowly; scrutinize; pry.
- To play the spy; exercise surveillance.
- noun A person who keeps a constant watch on the actions, motions, conduct, etc., of others; one who secretly watches what is going on.
- noun A secret emissary who goes into an enemy's camp or territory to inspect his works, ascertain his strength and his intentions, watch his movements, and report thereon to the proper officer. By the laws of war among all civilized nations a spy is liable to capital punishment.
- noun The pilot of a vessel.
- noun Au advanced guard; a forerunner.
- noun [In the following passage, spy is supposed by some to mean that which precedes and announces the time for the assassination of Banquo, by others the very eye, the exact moment.
- noun A glance; look; peep.
- noun An eye.
- noun Synonyms Emissary, Spy (see
emissary ), scout.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One who keeps a constant watch of the conduct of others.
- noun (Mil.) A person sent secretly into an enemy's camp, territory, or fortifications, to inspect his works, ascertain his strength, movements, or designs, and to communicate such intelligence to the proper officer.
- noun money paid to a spy; the reward for private or secret intelligence regarding the enemy.
- noun (Eccl.) the Wednesday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; -- so called in allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.
- intransitive verb To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
- transitive verb To gain sight of; to discover at a distance, or in a state of concealment; to espy; to see.
- transitive verb To discover by close search or examination.
- transitive verb To explore; to view, inspect, and examine secretly, as a country; -- usually with out.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage).
- verb intransitive To act as a spy.
- verb transitive To spot at a distance.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb secretly collect sensitive or classified information; engage in espionage
- noun a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people
- verb catch sight of
- verb catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes
- verb watch, observe, or inquire secretly
- 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
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And -- went on the cool, quiet mind -- since the man was _not_ a spy how could a Union officer be executed for assisting a _spy_ to escape?
The Littlest Rebel Edward Henry Peple 1896
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The term spy ware refers to software programs made by unscrupulous marketing companies that allow them to snoop on your browsing activity, see what you purchase, and cause pop-up ads to appear on your computer.
Protect Yourself From Viruses, SpyWare: Get a Mac « open thinking 2004
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Some of his work might justify the word "spy" in Shulman's subtitle, though "assassin" is surely over-egging it.
The Many Lives of Thomas Wyatt by Nicola Shulman - review 2011
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Just as it looks like the spy is about to complete his mission and escape, he is gunned down by Major John Casey, an NSA agent who has encountered him before.
Chuck: The Complete Second Season » DVDs Worth Watching 2010
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And he is listening to what we call the spy in the sky.
It’s What’s Inside the Lines That Counts Fay Vincent 2010
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And he is listening to what we call the spy in the sky.
It’s What’s Inside the Lines That Counts Fay Vincent 2010
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And he is listening to what we call the spy in the sky.
It’s What’s Inside the Lines That Counts Fay Vincent 2010
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They had precision cameras, binoculars, they had what we call spy-type equipment.
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I have kept a guard, what you call a spy, about your house to see if the vile Storms would enter when you were not there to repel him.
The President A novel Alfred Henry Lewis 1885
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How could a tiny start-up help manage the government's main spy satellite program?
For many with stake in Alaska native corporations, promise of better life remains unfulfilled Robert O'Harrow Jr. 2010
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