Adjacent Words

Spy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPY, n.
1. A person sent into an enemys camp to inspect their works, ascertain their works, ascertain their strength and their intentions, to watch their movements, and secretly communicate intelligence to the proper officer. By the laws of war among all civilized nations, a spy is subjected to capital punishment.
2. A person deputed to watch the conduct of others.
3. One who watches the conduct of others.
These wretched spies of wit.
SPY, v.t.
1. To see; to gain sight of; to discover at a distance, or in a state of concealment. It is the same as espy; as, to spy land from the mast head of a ship.
As tiger spied two gentle fawns.
One in reading skipped over all sentences where he spied a note of admiration.
2. To discover by close search or examination; as, a lawyer in examining the pleadings in a case, spies a defect.
3. To explore; to view, inspect and examine secretly; as a country; usually with out.
Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof. Numbers 21.
SPY, v.i. To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
It is my natures plague to spy into abuse.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (military) a secret agent hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or by a business to obtain industrial secrets from competitors [syn: spy, undercover agent]
2: a secret watcher; someone who secretly watches other people; "my spies tell me that you had a good time last night" v
1: catch sight of [syn: descry, spot, espy, spy]
2: watch, observe, or inquire secretly [syn: spy, stag, snoop, sleuth]
3: catch sight of; to perceive with the eyes; "he caught sight of the king's men coming over the ridge" [syn: spy, sight]
4: secretly collect sensitive or classified information; engage in espionage; "spy for the Russians"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (spied; spying) Etymology: Middle English spien, from Anglo-French espier, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German speh?n to spy; akin to Latin specere to look, look at, Greek skeptesthai & skopein to watch, look at, consider Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to watch secretly usually for hostile purposes 2. to catch sight of ; see 3. to search or look for intensively — usually used with out <spy out places fit for vending…goods — S. E. Morison> intransitive verb 1. to observe or search for something ; look 2. to watch secretly as a spy II. noun (plural spies) Date: 13th century 1. one that spies: a. one who keeps secret watch on a person or thing to obtain information b. a person employed by one nation to secretly convey classified information of strategic importance to another nation; also a person who conveys the trade secrets of one company to another 2. an act of spying

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. (pl. spies) 1 a person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, etc., of an enemy, competitor, etc. 2 a person who keeps watch on others, esp. furtively. --v. (spies, spied) 1 tr. discern or make out, esp. by careful observation (spied a house in the distance). 2 intr. (often foll. by on) act as a spy, keep a close and secret watch. 3 intr. (often foll. by into) pry. Phrases and idioms: I spy a children's game of guessing a visible object from the initial letter of its name. spy-master colloq. the head of an organization of spies. spy out explore or discover, esp. secretly. Etymology: ME f. OF espie espying, espier espy f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spy Spy, v. i. To search narrowly; to scrutinize. It is my nature's plague To spy into abuses. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(spies, spying, spied) 1. A spy is a person whose job is to find out secret information about another country or organization. He was jailed for five years as an alleged British spy... N-COUNT 2. A spy satellite or spy plane obtains secret information about another country by taking photographs from the sky. ADJ: ADJ n 3. Someone who spies for a country or organization tries to find out secret information about another country or organization. The agent spied for East Germany for more than twenty years... East and West are still spying on one another... I never agreed to spy against the United States. VERB: V for n, V on n, V against n • spying ...a ten-year sentence for spying. N-UNCOUNT 4. If you spy on someone, you watch them secretly. That day he spied on her while pretending to work on the shrubs... VERB: V on n 5. If you spy someone or something, you notice them. (LITERARY) He was walking down the street when he spied an old friend. = spot VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

spi.

See ESPY.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Scout, emissary (in disguise), secret agent. II. v. a. 1. See, behold, discern, espy, detect. 2. Discover, search out, detect. 3. Explore, view, inspect or examine secretly, discover by artifice. III. v. n. Scrutinize, search narrowly.

Moby Thesaurus

CIA man, agent, be vigilant, be watchful, beagle, behold, betrayer, blab, blabber, blabberer, blabbermouth, bug, case, catch sight of, clap eyes on, cloak-and-dagger operative, counterintelligence agent, counterspy, delator, descry, detect, detective, dig out, discern, discover, distinguish, double agent, espionage agent, espy, eye, eyeball, ferret out, fink, fish out, follow, gaze at, glimpse, grub up, have a looksee, have in sight, hold in view, hunt out, identify, informer, inside man, intelligence agent, investigator, keep in sight, keep in view, keep under observation, ken, lay eyes on, look after, look at, look on, look upon, make a reconnaissance, make out, meddle, military-intelligence man, narc, naval-intelligence man, nose, notice, observe, operative, peacher, peek, peep, perceive, pick out, pick up, play the spy, pry, pry out, put under surveillance, recognize, reconnoiter, reconnoiterer, regard, root out, scout, scout out, search out, secret agent, see, sense, sight, sleuth, snitch, snitcher, snoop, spook, spot, spotter, spy out, spy upon, spy-catcher, squealer, stag, stake out, stool pigeon, stoolie, take in, talebearer, tattler, tattletale, telltale, twig, undercover man, view, watch, whistle-blower, witness