Word
spying
Phoneticsspy·ing
US/ˈspaɪɪŋ/
UK/spˈaɪɪŋ/
Definition
n. the act of secretly watching someone or gathering private information about a country or company.
n. the systematic practice of espionage or gathering secret intelligence, often for political or military purposes.
Examples
“He was arrested for spying on the government.”
“The company was accused of industrial spying after a former employee leaked their secret designs to a rival.”
“While traditional spying once relied heavily on human intelligence and physical infiltration, modern espionage is increasingly dominated by sophisticated cyber operations and satellite surveillance.”
Examples
simple
“He was arrested for spying on the government.”
contextual
“The company was accused of industrial spying after a former employee leaked their secret designs to a rival.”
complex
“While traditional spying once relied heavily on human intelligence and physical infiltration, modern espionage is increasingly dominated by sophisticated cyber operations and satellite surveillance.”
Usage
Often used with the preposition 'on' to indicate the target of the activity.
Etymology
From spy + -ing.
Inherited from Middle English spyinge, spiyng, spyeng, equivalent to spy + -ing.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/spying