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.]

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noun

A person who secretly observes others to obtain information: agent, operative. Informal spook. Idioms: secretundercoveragent. See investigate.

verb

1. To observe or listen in secret to obtain information: eavesdrop. See investigate.
2. To perceive, especially barely or fleetingly: catch, descry, detect, discern, espy, glimpse, spot. See see/not see.

IN BRIEF: A person who watches others secretly. Also: To see.

I spy a hawk flying high in the sky.

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For a list of words related to spying, see:

• Espionage and Intelligence - spying: secret intelligence-gathering activities against another nation

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  See crossword solutions for the clue Spy.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - spion, spejder
v. tr. - spionere, holde øje med, spejde, opdage
v. intr. - spionere

idioms:

• spy out    udspionere, belure

Nederlands (Dutch)
spioneren, ontwaren, spion

Français (French)
n. - espion, indicateur, indic
v. tr. - remarquer, discerner
v. intr. - (Pol) espionner, (fig) espionner, épier

idioms:

• I spy    jeu de devinettes
• spy out    reconnaître, (lit, fig) reconnaître (le terrain)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Spion, Schnüffler
v. - spionieren, ausmachen

idioms:

• I spy    (inf) Ich sehe
• spy out    ausspionieren

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κατάσκοπος, χαφιές
v. - κατασκοπεύω, διακρίνω

idioms:

• spy out    ανακαλύπτω, ξετρυπώνω

Italiano (Italian)
spiare, intravvedere, spia

idioms:

• spy out    intravvedere

Português (Portuguese)
n. - espião (m)
v. - espionar

idioms:

• spy out    descobrir

Русский (Russian)
шпион, тайный агент, разведчик, шпик, заниматься шпионажем, добывать разведывательные данные, шпионить, подсматривать, выслеживать, исследовать, подмечать, наблюдать в телескоп

idioms:

• spy out    исследовать, осматривать

Español (Spanish)
n. - espía
v. tr. - divisar, percibir, espiar, acechar, fisgonear
v. intr. - espiar (a uno)

idioms:

• I spy    veo, veo
• spy out    reconocer, escudriñar, descubrir valiéndose de artimañas

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - spion, spejare
v. - spionera, speja efter, få syn på, varsebli, iaktta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
间谍, 侦察, 侦探, 发现, 找出, 做密探, 侦查

idioms:

• spy out    侦察出, 窥测方向, 刺探

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 間諜, 偵察, 偵探
v. tr. - 偵察, 發現, 找出
v. intr. - 做密探, 偵查

idioms:

• spy out    偵察出, 窺測方向, 刺探

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 스파이, 탐정, 군사정찰
v. tr. - 감시하다, 조사하다, 발견하다
v. intr. - 몰래 감시하다, 주의 깊게 조사하다

idioms:

• spy out    비밀히 조사하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - スパイ
v. - ひそかに見張る, スパイする, 見付け出す, 探り出す

idioms:

• spy out    偵察する, 見付け出す

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) جاسوس, (فعل) تجسس, امح عن بعيد, لاحظ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מרגל, סוכן שתול‬
v. tr. - ‮ראה, הבחין, סייר, ריגל, בלש‬
v. intr. - ‮התחקה בחשאי‬

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