spying
Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
spy
(spī)n. pl. spies (spīz)
1. One who secretly collects information concerning the enemies of a government or group.
2. One who secretly collects information for a business about one or more of its competitors.
3. One who secretly keeps watch on another or others.
v. spied (spīd), spy·ing, spies (spīz)
v.tr.
1. To watch or observe secretly: was sent to spy out the enemy camp.
2. To discover by close observation: "[They] are continually prowling about on all three decks, eager to spy out iniquities" (Herman Melville).
3. To catch sight of; see: spied the ship on the horizon.
v.intr.
1. To engage in espionage.
2. To investigate or observe something, especially in secret: spying into the neighbor's activities.
[Middle English spie, from Old French espie, from espier, to watch, of Germanic origin; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
spying
(ˈspaɪɪŋ)n
(Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the activity of trying to obtain secret information from rival countries, organizations, companies, etc
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Noun 1. [画像:spying - keeping a secret or furtive watch]spying - keeping a secret or furtive watch
2. [画像:spying - the act of keeping a secret watch for intelligence purposes]spying - the act of keeping a secret watch for intelligence purposes
espionage - the systematic use of spies to get military or political secrets
intelligence activity, intelligence operation, intelligence - the operation of gathering information about an enemy
3. spying - the act of detecting something; catching sight of something
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
spying
noun espionage, reconnaissance, infiltration, undercover work a ten-year sentence for spying
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
špionáž
spionage
vakoilu
špijuniranje
スパイ行為
정탐하기
spionage
การสอดแนม
sự bí mật theo dõi
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
spying
→ تـَجَسُّسَ špionáž spionage Spionieren κατασκοπεία espionaje vakoilu espionnage špijuniranje spionaggio スパイ行為 정탐하기 spioneren spionasje szpiegostwo espionagem шпионаж spionage การสอดแนม casusluk sự bí mật theo dõi 密探Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009