as in notices
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
out of the corner of my eye I espied the squirrel making another raid on the bird feeder
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for espies
Verb
-
In the first ad, which debuted in early January, a man notices a woman smiling at him from down the bar.—
Rahul Goyal,
Fortune,
12 Jan. 2026 -
Kim notices a row of objects lined up on one side of the kitchen table.—
Sadia Shepard,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Every time a customer pays with a credit card, 2 to 4 percent of that sale is siphoned off before a business ever sees the money.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Qu said the company sees it as a hobby-grade product aimed at users who want a closer approximation of real piloting.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
However, if the governing body eyes a group of six or seven, Aledo could stay with the Dallas-Fort Worth teams, as the Bearcats are farther east than Weatherford and Granbury.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
17 Dec. 2025
-
For the Colts, the injury is a massive loss as the team eyes a playoff spot.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
13 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
With fellow assistant Dennis Lawrence also off to West Brom and Knowles elevated, that leaves at least two assistant coach spots vacant.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
12 Jan. 2026
-
So the Night Owls are for surveillance and not operations, at least until Pine spots a familiar face, somebody with ties to Roper.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Espies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/espies. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
