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spy |sp?| noun ( pl. spies ) a person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy or competitor. • a person who keeps watch on others secretly: [ as modifier ] : a spy camera. verb ( spies, spied, spying ) [ no obj. ] work for a government or other organization by secretly collecting information about enemies or competitors: he agreed to spy for the West. • (spy on) observe (someone) furtively: the couple were spied on by reporters. • [ with obj. ] discern or make out, esp. by careful observation: he could spy a figure in the distance. • [ with obj. ] (spy something out) collect information about something to use in deciding how to act: he would go and spy out the land. DERIVATIVES spying noun ORIGIN Middle English: shortening of Old French espie ‘espying,’ espier ‘espy,’ of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin specere ‘behold, look.’
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