espionage

noun

es·​pi·​o·​nage ˈe-spē-ə-ˌnäzh  -ˌnäj 

-nij

Canadian also -ˌnazh;

ˌe-spē-ə-ˈnäzh;

i-ˈspē-ə-nij

: the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities especially of a foreign government or a competing company

industrial espionage

Synonyms of espionage

• spying

Examples of espionage in a Sentence

He was charged with several counts of espionage.

the acts of espionage on behalf of the Confederacy carried on by Belle Boyd and Rose Greenhow

Recent Examples on the Web

In outline, these are elegant Bond-villain machines for faceless, leaderless, pervasive espionage and assassination, the stuff of paranoid nightmares and stochastic violence. — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

One of the most striking indications of the scale of this campaign is the explosion of high treason and espionage prosecutions since the start of the war. — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026

This was followed by the creation of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) on July 22 to handle espionage and resistance agents, and the first raids were already being carried out. — David Szondy august 30, New Atlas, 30 Aug. 2026

Rogers was acquitted at trial of the more serious charge of conspiracy to commit economic espionage. — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French espionnage, from Middle French, from espionner to spy, from espion spy, from Old Italian spione, from spia, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German spehōn to spy — more at spy

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

espionage

noun

es·​pi·​o·​nage ˈes-pē-ə-ˌnäzh  -näj 

-ˌnij

: the practice of spying : the use of spies

Legal Definition

espionage

noun

es·​pi·​o·​nage ˈes-pē-ə-ˌnäzh, -ˌnäj, -nij 

: the practice of gathering, transmitting, or losing through gross negligence information relating to the defense of the U.S. with the intent that or with reason to believe that the information will be used to the injury of the U.S. or the advantage of a foreign nation