Adjacent Words

Espionage definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ES'PIONAGE, n. The practice or employment of spies; the practice of watching the words and conduct of others and attempting to make discoveries, as spies or secret emissaries; the practice of watching others without being suspected, and giving intelligence of discoveries made.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the systematic use of spies to get military or political secrets

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: French espionnage, from Middle French, from espionner to spy, from espion spy, from Old Italian spione, from spia, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German speh?n to spy — more at spy Date: 1793 the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities especially of a foreign government or a competing company <industrial espionage>

Britannica Concise

Process of obtaining military, political, commercial, or other secret information by means of spies, secret agents, or illegal monitoring devices. It is sometimes distinguished from the broader category of intelligence gathering by its aggressive nature and its illegality. Counterespionage efforts are directed at detecting and thwarting espionage by others.

U.S. Military Dictionary

The act of obtaining, delivering, transmitting, communicating, or receiving information about the national defense with an intent, or reason to believe, that the information may be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation. Espionage is a violation of 18 United States Code 792-798 and Article 106, Uniform Code of Military Justice. See also counterintelligence. (JP 2-01.2)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. the practice of spying or of using spies, esp. by governments. Etymology: F espionnage f. espionner f. espion SPY

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Espionage Es"pi*o*nage (?; 277), n. [F. espionnage, fr. espionner to spy, fr. espion spy, OF. espie. See Espy.] The practice or employment of spies; the practice of watching the words and conduct of others, to make discoveries, as spies or secret emissaries; secret watching.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Espionage is the activity of finding out the political, military, or industrial secrets of your enemies or rivals by using spies. (FORMAL) The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage. ...industrial espionage. = spying see also counter-espionage

Moby Thesaurus

bugging, cloak-and-dagger work, counterespionage, counterintelligence, electronic surveillance, espial, following, intelligence, intelligence work, looking, lookout, military intelligence, note, notice, observance, observation, reconnaissance, regard, respect, secret police, secret service, shadowing, sleuthing, spying, stakeout, surveillance, tailing, trailing, viewing, watch, watching, wiretap, wiretapping, witnessing