double agent

noun

Synonyms of double agentnext
: a spy pretending to serve one government while actually serving another

Examples of double agent in a Sentence

He was secretly working as a double agent for the Americans during the war.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Alexander says that’s because Garth himself, having grown up in Gilead and now serving as a double agent for the rebels in Canada, doesn’t have the words for it. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026 Bernadine appeared to be useless—or, worse, a potential double agent. David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026 In 2018 the site published evidence that two Russian men were responsible for the near-fatal poisoning of the former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Nick Tabor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026 Lydia, naturally, has her own reasons for pairing Agnes and Daisy together, evolving from a ruthless zealot and disciplinarian in Handmaid’s Tale into a kind of double agent looking to overthrow Gilead from within the hallowed halls of power in Testaments, as the finale set her up to do. Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for double agent

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of double agent was in 1935

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Double agent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/double%20agent. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on double agent

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster