spies

NOUN

person who secretly finds out about another's business

Synonyms

STRONGEST

agent detective informer investigator mole operative secret agent secret service undercover agent

STRONG

emissary lookout observer patrol picket plant scout sleeper sleuth snoop spook spotter watcher

WEAK

double agent espionage agent foreign agent inside agent intelligencer

VERB

secretly follow, watch another's actions

Synonyms

STRONGEST

discover examine scrutinize snoop

STRONG

case eyeball glimpse meddle notice observe peep pry reconnoiter scout search shadow sleuth spot stag tail trail view watch

WEAK

catch sight of fish out get a load of keep under surveillance look for recon set eyes on stake out take in take note

Antonyms

STRONG

ignore miss neglect overlook

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

spies

But despite such cases, North Korea is underequipped in intelligence gathering, lacking an extensive international web of spies and tools such as a global satellite network.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

One of North Korea's best-known spies was Jeong Su-il, who entered South Korea in 1984 posing as Muhammed Kansu, a Filipino-Lebanese academic.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Reddick loads her genre-blurring tale with outlandish intrigue involving Soviet spies, a capitalist cult and a roving choir that doubles as a Greek chorus.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

The CIA is the agency chiefly involved in spies and counterspies.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

Maybe—if Abel could build a good enough network of spies.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin