as in spies
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
for years we have had a mole in the enemy's national intelligence agency
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Recent Examples of moles
The menu will have six different moles.
—
Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
These changes impact skin appearance, adding wrinkles, fine lines, discoloration and moles.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025
In the depths of the chat communities of various cult-favorite Substacks like Laura Reilly’s Magasin, brides-to-be pop up every now and then like moles in an arcade game.
—Emma Rayder, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2025
Casa Playa is another highlight, where chef Sarah Thomas, a finalist in this year’s Best Chef Southwest category for the James Beard Awards, creates ethereal moles and exquisite coastal Mexican cuisine.
—David Morris, Travel + Leisure, 25 Nov. 2025
Heavily infiltrated by Venezuelan moles, the Gideon operation ended in disaster.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Rabbits, moles, and voles can significantly damage young fruit trees in winter.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2025
To keep gophers and moles out, gardeners had to put their own screens under the ground to keep them from digging up to the plants.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
These are the result of moles clearing out excess soil from deeper excavations, says Owen.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
Max Scheinblum, Denver Post, 22 Dec. 2025
These changes impact skin appearance, adding wrinkles, fine lines, discoloration and moles.
—Nicole Fallert, USA Today, 16 Dec. 2025
In the depths of the chat communities of various cult-favorite Substacks like Laura Reilly’s Magasin, brides-to-be pop up every now and then like moles in an arcade game.
—Emma Rayder, Vogue, 9 Dec. 2025
Casa Playa is another highlight, where chef Sarah Thomas, a finalist in this year’s Best Chef Southwest category for the James Beard Awards, creates ethereal moles and exquisite coastal Mexican cuisine.
—David Morris, Travel + Leisure, 25 Nov. 2025
Heavily infiltrated by Venezuelan moles, the Gideon operation ended in disaster.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Rabbits, moles, and voles can significantly damage young fruit trees in winter.
—Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Nov. 2025
To keep gophers and moles out, gardeners had to put their own screens under the ground to keep them from digging up to the plants.
—Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
These are the result of moles clearing out excess soil from deeper excavations, says Owen.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for moles
Noun
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Just two good old-fashioned American spies, the Soviet Union, the Cold War and a lot of high jinks.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
15 Jan. 2026
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Rather than send the grieving widows back to the States, the head honchos decide to turn them into spies.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Khanna’s public statements haven’t stopped pro-China operatives from targeting him in their influence operations, however.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Jan. 2026
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Everyone was deemed an armed terrorist, on par with the depictions of Al Qaeda operatives in Afghan caves, and thus the face of a minister for youth and sports could be plastered with a red X on Israel’s official government channels, the same as Osama bin Laden’s.—
Séamus Malekafzali,
Washington Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Thousands of people took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon to protest federal immigration activity after agents were involved in two different shootings this week, one that left a woman dead in Minneapolis and another that wounded two people in Portland, Oregon.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
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Some who marched carried signs of Good as well as others who have been killed by ICE agents or died while in ICE custody.—
Chaewon Chung,
Sacbee.com,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Moles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moles. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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