as in operative
a person who tries secretly to obtain information for one country in the territory of another usually unfriendly country
the government spy risked his life every day in the fight against global terrorism
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to spot
to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
I spy a motel off in the distance, so let's spend the night there
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of spy
Alison Herman, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
Since Craig wrapped up his fifth and final 007 movie, No Time to Die, in 2021, more than a dozen actors' names have been raised as possible new faces for the notorious spy.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Tj MacIas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2025
Depending on your age and foreign language ability, fulfilling your James Bond spy fantasies may not be very realistic—but spying for the British government just got more accessible.
—PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spy
Noun
Now in its fifth season, the Apple TV drama follows a gang of screw-up spies who are nobody’s idea of the Avengers, led by Gary Oldman’s irascible, flatulent Jackson Lamb.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
Since Craig wrapped up his fifth and final 007 movie, No Time to Die, in 2021, more than a dozen actors' names have been raised as possible new faces for the notorious spy.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
The relative then spied a dead dog on an interstate nearby, and assumed the canine was Randy since both dogs had the same shading.
—Tj MacIas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Oct. 2025
Depending on your age and foreign language ability, fulfilling your James Bond spy fantasies may not be very realistic—but spying for the British government just got more accessible.
—PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spy
Noun
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Muhammad Ali Hadid, a senior member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, was eliminated in Nabatieh, while another operative was struck in Ayta ash Shab after being seen collecting intelligence on Israeli positions.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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Seasoned political operatives and experienced business executives Steve Silverman and Carrie Goux will lead the Washington office.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Perry and Trudeau first sparked romance rumors over the summer, when they were spotted on a date in Montreal, Canada.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
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Shawn Mayes, a longtime Terpsichore dancer, remembered when MTV did a bar crawl and spotted the dancers and put it on camera.—
Lillian Metzmeier,
Louisville Courier Journal,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The woman, Marimar Martinez, is accused of closely pursuing the agent and ramming into his car.—
Omar Jimenez,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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The team settled for adding TE Josh Whyle and defensive lineman Arron Mosby from the practice squad to the active roster, but Green Bay is apparently in on one prominent free-agent defensive back as well.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The White House recently signaled a new security initiative with Qatar, and Riyadh is understood to be eyeing a similar framework with Washington.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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Top banks from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa are among the newly arrived or expanding institutions over the past 18 months as their leaders eye a market that still produces higher than average banking profits.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Four other agents accompanied me, all also operating undercover.—
Martin Suarez,
Rolling Stone,
13 Sep. 2025
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Season 2 of the hit Paramount+ series will continue following Martian (Michael Fassbender), a CIA agent living undercover in his own life.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Harvey brings a distinctive approach to the nuclear narrative, one shaped by childhood memories of hearing about French President Jacques Chirac and the Rainbow Warrior bombing, but noticing the absence of First Nations voices in those stories.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
4 Nov. 2025
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Victims may not notice until much later, when more money has been taken.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Rabbits, moles, and voles can significantly damage young fruit trees in winter.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 Nov. 2025
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Security researchers routinely discover new prompt injection attacks, which AI developers have to continuously try to fix with updates, leading to a constant game of whack-a-mole.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Say the managers see a software provider on the block at a bargain price, and want to add it to a tech portfolio.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
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Conversely, first responders wouldn’t be able to see what's going on inside the aircraft.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spy. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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