espionage

noun

es·​pi·​o·​nage ˈe-spē-ə-ˌnäzh  -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

Synonyms

• spying

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

View 12 Images View gallery - 12 images In June 1974, the offices of the Summa Corporation in LA were broken into, sparking the revelation of one of the oddest and boldest stories in the history of espionage. —David Szondy, New Atlas, 4 Jan. 2025

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a man who leads a team into other people’s dreams for the purposes of corporate espionage at first. —Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025

According to the logline, season two sees Owen pulled into a life-threatening espionage situation, only to realize the bigger threat may be coming from inside the Agency. —Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Jan. 2025

But when their cover is unexpectedly blown, the couple is thrust back into the dangerous world of espionage. —Travis Bean, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French espionnage, from Middle French, from espionner to spy, from espion spy, from Old Italian spione, from spia, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German spehōn to spy — more at spy

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

espionage

noun

es·​pi·​o·​nage ˈes-pē-ə-ˌnäzh  -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