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spy - 6 dictionary results
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spy

  [spahy] ,noun, plural spies, verb, spied, spy⋅ing.
Use spy in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, esp. with reference to military or naval affairs.
2. a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others.
3. a person who seeks to obtain confidential information about the activities, plans, methods, etc., of an organization or person, esp. one who is employed for this purpose by a competitor: an industrial spy.
4. the act of spying.
–verb (used without object)
5. to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often fol. by on or upon).
6. to act as a spy; engage in espionage.
7. to be on the lookout; keep watch.
8. to search for or examine something closely or carefully.
–verb (used with object)
9. to catch sight of suddenly; espy; descry: to spy a rare bird overhead.
10. to discover or find out by observation or scrutiny (often fol. by out).
11. to observe (a person, place, enemy, etc.) secretively or furtively with hostile intent.
12. to inspect or examine or to search or look for closely or carefully.
Origin:
1200–50; (v.) ME spien, aph. var. of espien to espy; (n.) ME, aph. var. of espy a spy < OF espie

Related forms:
spyship, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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spy   (spī)   
n.   pl. spies (spīz)
  1. An agent employed by a state to obtain secret information, especially of a military nature, concerning its potential or actual enemies.
  2. One employed by a company to obtain confidential information about its competitors.
  3. One who secretly keeps watch on another or others.
  4. An act of spying.
v.   spied (spīd), spy·ing, spies (spīz)

v.   tr.
  1. To observe secretly with hostile intent.
  2. To discover by close observation.
  3. To catch sight of: spied the ship on the horizon.
  4. To investigate intensively.
v.   intr.
  1. To engage in espionage.
  2. To seek or observe something secretly and closely.
  3. To make a careful investigation: spying into other people's activities.

[Middle English spie, from Old French espie, from espier, to watch, of Germanic origin; see spek- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Spy

Spy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spied; p. pr. & vb. n. Spying.] [OE. spien, espien, OF. espier, F. ['e]pier, OHG. speh?n, G. sp["a]hen; akin to L. specere to see, Skr. spa(?). ? 169. Cf. Espy, v.t., Aspect, Auspice, Circumspect, Conspicuouc, Despise, Frontispiece, Inspect, Prospect, Respite, Scope, Scecimen, Spectacle, Specter, Speculate, Spice, Spite, Suspicion.] To gain sight of; to discover at a distance, or in a state of concealment; to espy; to see.

One in reading, skipped over all sentences where he spied a note of admiration. --Swift.

2. To discover by close search or examination.

Look about with yout eyes; spy what things are to be reformed in the church of England. --Latimer.

3. To explore; to view; inspect; and examine secretly, as a country; -- usually with out.

Moses sent to spy Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof. --Num. xxi. 32.

Spy

Spy\, v. i. To search narrowly; to scrutinize.

It is my nature's plague To spy into abuses. --Shak.

Spy

Spy\, n.; pl. Spies. [See Spy, v., and cf. Espy, n.]

1. One who keeps a constant watch of the conduct of others. "These wretched spies of wit." --Dryden.

2. (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.

Spy money, money paid to a spy; the reward for private or secret intelligence regarding the enemy.

Spy Wednesday (Eccl.), the Wednesday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; -- so called in allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.

Syn: See Emissary, and Scout.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : spy
Spanish: agente secreto,
German: der, *die Spion(in),
Japanese: スパイ
More Translations »

spy 
c.1250, from O.Fr. espier "to spy," espie "a spy," probably from Frank. *spehon, from P.Gmc. *spekh- (cf. O.H.G. *spehon "to look out for, scout, spy," Ger. spähen "to spy," M.Du. spien), the Gmc. survivals of the productive PIE root *spek- "to look" (see scope (1)). Spy-glass "telescope, field-glass" is from 1706.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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