Free TranslationFree Translation
Synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation

  Home 		English Dictionary      examples: 'day', 'get rid of', 'New York Bay'




Spy   /spaɪ/   Listen
noun
Spy  n.  (pl. spies)  
1.
One who keeps a constant watch of the conduct of others. "These wretched spies of wit."
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.
Synonyms: See Emissary, and Scout.


verb
Spy  v. t.  (past & past part. spied; pres. part. spying)  
1.
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."
2.
To discover by close search or examination. "Look about with your eyes; spy what things are to be reformed in the church of England."
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."


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





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


Advanced search
     Find words:
Starting with
Ending with
Containing
Matching a pattern  

Synonyms
Antonyms
Quotes
Words linked to  

only single words


Share |




"Spy" Quotes from Famous Books



... single tiny star which is twinkling over your head is a sun, a sun as large, or larger than our own sun, perhaps with worlds moving round it, as our world moves round our sun, but so many millions of miles far off, that the strongest spy-glass cannot make these stars look any larger, or show us the worlds which we believe are moving ...
— Sermons for the Times • Charles Kingsley
... Solarian system far behind. We are going to another system; one far enough removed so that the spy-rays of Triplanetary will never find us, and yet one that we can reach in a reasonable length of time with the energies at our command. Some fifteen days will be required for the journey, however, and our quarters are cramped. Therefore make places ...
— Triplanetary • Edward Elmer Smith
... feared and blindly obeyed Miss Smellie, propitiated while loathing her; accepted her statements, standards, and beliefs; curried favour and became her spy and informer. ...
— Snake and Sword - A Novel • Percival Christopher Wren
... was somebody who was trying to spy on us," put in Fred. "If we tell the captain we will only be exposing ourselves, and I guess you all know what ...
— The Rover Boys in the Jungle • Arthur M. Winfield
... he said. "I was a failure at both, too. I got put in jail for being a spy, and I ought to have been hung for my acting." I kicked my mule forward ...
— Captain Macklin • Richard Harding Davis


More quotes...


Copyright © 2026 e-Free Translation.com