espionage
noun
es·pi·o·nage
ˈe-spē-ə-ˌnäzh 
-ˌnäj
-ˌnäj
-nij,
Canadian also -ˌnazh;
ˌe-spē-ə-ˈnäzh;
i-ˈspē-ə-nij
: the practice of spying or using spies to obtain information about the plans and activities especially of a foreign government or a competing company
industrial espionage
Examples of espionage in a Sentence
He was charged with several counts of espionage.
the acts of espionage on behalf of the Confederacy carried on by Belle Boyd and Rose Greenhow
Recent Examples on the Web
Iranian threat groups also deploy ransomware to raise funds and conduct espionage at the same time, while Chinese spy groups often supplement their income with cybercrime, Google said.
—
Davey Winder, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
His narrative starts in the 1920s, when Bolsheviks excelled in espionage by drawing on their prior experience with clandestine activities in tsarist Russia—and on the abundance of communist sympathizers in European capitals.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Waller — The Viola Davis Suicide Squad and Peacemaker spinoff about the espionage director without scruples remains in the works despite a bumpy development road impacted by the strikes.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2025
And a cover-up may have furthered the aims of domestic espionage operations like the CIA’s CHAOS and the FBI’s COINTELPRO, which targeted and discredited radical movements whether hippies, Black Panthers, or anti-war activists.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for espionage
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Davey Winder, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
His narrative starts in the 1920s, when Bolsheviks excelled in espionage by drawing on their prior experience with clandestine activities in tsarist Russia—and on the abundance of communist sympathizers in European capitals.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Waller — The Viola Davis Suicide Squad and Peacemaker spinoff about the espionage director without scruples remains in the works despite a bumpy development road impacted by the strikes.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Feb. 2025
And a cover-up may have furthered the aims of domestic espionage operations like the CIA’s CHAOS and the FBI’s COINTELPRO, which targeted and discredited radical movements whether hippies, Black Panthers, or anti-war activists.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for espionage
Articles Related to espionage
Cite this Entry
“Espionage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/espionage. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
espionage
noun
es·pi·o·nage
ˈes-pē-ə-ˌnäzh
-näj
-näj
-ˌnij
: the practice of spying : the use of spies
Legal Definition
espionage
noun
es·pi·o·nage
ˈes-pē-ə-ˌnäzh, -ˌnäj, -nij
: the practice of gathering, transmitting, or losing through gross negligence information relating to the defense of the U.S. with the intent that or with reason to believe that the information will be used to the injury of the U.S. or the advantage of a foreign nation
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