as in to notice
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
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Recent Examples of espy
The film’s comedy is built from a series of infinitesimal touches and chance intrusions, as when Édouard, espying Charles in the street, leaps from his seat at a sidewalk café and jostles a waiter bearing drinks.
—
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 9 July 2024
Imprisoned by the Duke of Athens, the cousins espy the beautiful Emilia from their cell—and each man falls immediately in love.
—Andrea Mays, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2024
If a basket-hanger was espied by the recipient, the recipient would give chase and try to steal a kiss from the basket-hanger.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2024
Images taken from different realities, different spaces, times, places that have been sort of cut out and pasted together to create a new scene that depicts something that no human eye would ever have espied.
—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2023
Resentful 1970s émigrés were prodding the West to espy its true enemy not in communism, but in an irredeemable Russia.
—Ignat Solzhenitsyn, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2020
The cub tried to sneak up on him, but was quickly espied by the older lion.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 20 June 2019
For instance, visitors can scan through an electronic infographic for terrariums filled with camouflaging Gulf Coast toads, then head outside onto more than 2 miles of dirt and boardwalk trails to espy the bayou's flora and fauna.
—Beau Evans, NOLA.com, 6 Oct. 2017
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 9 July 2024
Imprisoned by the Duke of Athens, the cousins espy the beautiful Emilia from their cell—and each man falls immediately in love.
—Andrea Mays, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2024
If a basket-hanger was espied by the recipient, the recipient would give chase and try to steal a kiss from the basket-hanger.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2024
Images taken from different realities, different spaces, times, places that have been sort of cut out and pasted together to create a new scene that depicts something that no human eye would ever have espied.
—Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2023
Resentful 1970s émigrés were prodding the West to espy its true enemy not in communism, but in an irredeemable Russia.
—Ignat Solzhenitsyn, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2020
The cub tried to sneak up on him, but was quickly espied by the older lion.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 20 June 2019
For instance, visitors can scan through an electronic infographic for terrariums filled with camouflaging Gulf Coast toads, then head outside onto more than 2 miles of dirt and boardwalk trails to espy the bayou's flora and fauna.
—Beau Evans, NOLA.com, 6 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for espy
Verb
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Karen Walsh began to notice a change in her husband back in 2017.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
30 May 2025
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Other journalists noticed a drop-off in performance for the convertibles, and probably more so than the mild weight gains of just about 100 lbs (45 kg) might suggest.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2025
Verb
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Todd and Julie did see a minor court victory in 2019 when the Georgia Department of Revenue cleared the couple of a $2 million state tax evasion charge stemming from a two-year investigation of nearly eight years of returns beginning in 2008.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2025
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Patchy Mix Betting Odds and Line Movement With Mix being somewhat of an unknown to many fight fans who spend most of their time focusing on the UFC, the opening odds for this contest saw Mix and Bautista both listed at -110.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Verb
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Then there was the math question about dividing up a sandwich that featured a major flaw one 6-year-old girl was quick to spot.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 May 2025
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They usually are spotted alone or in groups of two or three and use side-lunging as a way of feeding on schools of fish, the NOAA said.—
Paloma Chavez,
Sacbee.com,
27 May 2025
Verb
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Half a century later, President Donald Trump seems to be eyeing a similar diplomatic maneuver, but in reverse: drawing Russia closer to the United States in order to give Washington an advantage in its geopolitical competition with Communist China.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
30 May 2025
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More recently, speculation has centered on Raquel Regalado eyeing City Hall.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Espy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/espy. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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