Spy up on

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noun

a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs.

a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others.

a person who seeks to obtain confidential information about the activities, plans, methods, etc., of an organization or person, especially one who is employed for this purpose by a competitor: an industrial spy.

the act of spying.

verb (used without object)

to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often followed by on or upon ).

to act as a spy; engage in espionage.

to be on the lookout; keep watch.

to search for or examine something closely or carefully.

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So is gobo. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

verb (used with object)

to catch sight of suddenly; espy; descry: to spy a rare bird overhead.

10.

to discover or find out by observation or scrutiny (often followed 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.) Middle English spien, aphetic variant of espien to espy; (noun) Middle English, aphetic variant of espy a spy < Old French espie

Related forms

spy·ship, noun

out·spy, verb (used with object), out·spied, out·spy·ing.

su·per·spy, noun, plural su·per·spies.

un·spied, adjective

un·spy·ing, adjective

Link To spy up on

Collins

World English Dictionary

spy (spaɪ)

—n , pl spies
1.	a person employed by a state or institution to obtain secret information from rival countries, organizations, companies, etc
2.	a person who keeps secret watch on others
3.	obsolete a close view

—vb (usually foll by on) , spies, spies, spying, spied
4.	to keep a secret or furtive watch (on)
5.	(intr) to engage in espionage
6.	(tr) to catch sight of; descry

[C13 spien, from Old French espier, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German spehōn, Middle Dutch spien]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

spy

mid-13c., from O.Fr. espier "to spy," espie "a spy," probably from Frankish *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.

Matching Quote

"Any owner of cats will know of what I speak. Cats come at dawn to sit on your bed. They may not nip your nose or inhale your breath or make a sound. They simply sit there and stare at you until you open one eyelid and spy them there about to drop dead for need of feeding. So it is with ideas. They come silently in the hour of trying to wake up and remember my name. The notions and fancies sit on the edge of my wits, whisper in my ears and then, if I don't rouse, give more than cats give: a good knock in the head, which gets me out and down to my typewriter before the ideas flee or die or both. In any event, I make the ideas come to me. I do not go to them. I provoke their patience by pretending disregard. This infuriates the latent creature until it is almost raving to be born and once born, nourished."

-Ray Bradbury

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