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

Chen was charged with espionage on May 1, 2025, but has not yet stood trial. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 15 July 2026

The seismologist was detained in November 2024 by state security agents during a personal trip to visit his parents in Beijing, and he has been charged with espionage, Global Reach said. — ABC News, 14 July 2026

The suit alleges nothing short of a wide-scale corporate espionage campaign carried out by ex-Apple employees who joined OpenAI, according to the filing. — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 13 July 2026

Sobell was convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and sentenced to 30 years in prison (he was spared the death penalty because no evidence tied him to sharing atomic secrets). — Amy Weiss-Meyer, The Atlantic, 10 July 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