spy on

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.

Before 2020, local tax collectors had to sit at airports to spy on tail numbers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

In 2015 the German newspaper Kicker reported that Cologne - where Eckert was working as a youth coach - had sent an analyst to spy on Hamburg during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

The island’s internal espionage and counterintelligence apparatus includes some 100,000 officials and informants who spy on the population and monitor every street, workplace and university, García said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Yuen denied commissioning Wai to carry out surveillance of Hong Kong dissidents based in London, including "never" having asked him to spy on pro-democracy activist Nathan Law.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

“First you’re pathetic because you spied on her. Then you’re pathetic because she saw you spy on her. Who was the alpha of this little catastrophe?”

From "City Spies" by James Ponti