SINCE 1828
tradecraft
noun
trade·craft
| \ ˈtrād-ˌkraft
\
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Definition of tradecraft
: the techniques and procedures of espionage
Examples of tradecraft in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One strong possibility is that Mr. Cuomo, who is running for a third term, tactically held his tongue in an act of political tradecraft. — New York Times, "Cuomo Finally Says the Obvious: He Backs the Transit Rescue Plan," 31 May 2018 Still other former intelligence officials have also argued that the spy network might have been crippled by a combination of both, as well as sloppy tradecraft by agency officers in China. — Adam Goldman, New York Times, "Ex-C.I.A. Officer Suspected of Compromising Chinese Informants Is Arrested," 16 Jan. 2018 John le Carré could not have done better justice to all the details of spy tradecraft (brush-contacts, secret recognition signals, counter-surveillance tactics) that went into the daring operation. — Stephen Budiansky, WSJ, "‘The Spy and the Traitor’ Review: Inside the Mind of a Double Agent," 13 Sep. 2018 The honey trap, as the professionals euphemistically call a liaison in the bedroom, is once again part of the tradecraft taught to new agents. — Ash Carter, Town & Country, "A New Book Reveals How the "Blonde Bond" Helped the Allies Win World War II," 14 Apr. 2016 Many of the tradecraft techniques are so old, they were used in Biblical times. — Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, "How 'Red Sparrow' Author Made the Film More "Authentically CIA"," 1 Mar. 2018 As an informant, Halper openly asked questions; a spy uses tradecraft to obtain information. — Glenn Kessler, chicagotribune.com, "Trump's 'spygate' claim is latest off-target salvo at Russia probe," 2 June 2018 This is intelligence tradecraft to steer an election. — Gregg Re, Fox News, "'Highly partisan' Mueller team is trying hard to 'frame' Trump, Giuliani says in Israel," 6 June 2018 As an informant, Halper openly asked questions; a spy uses tradecraft to obtain information. — Glenn Kessler, chicagotribune.com, "Trump's 'spygate' claim is latest off-target salvo at Russia probe," 2 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tradecraft.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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