Words / B2

SPEYE/spaɪ/

A spy secretly gathers information; as a verb, to watch secretly or to notice: a spy network; spy on. Agent is wider; intelligence officer is the official twin. How a spy network changed wartime intelligence. Mix-up: pie is food; spike is a sharp point. Do not call a journalist a spy without evidence of covert work.

Meaning

A person who secretly gathers information; also (verb) to watch secretly, or to notice.

Examples

• “The history paper asks how a spy network changed wartime intelligence.”
• “Invigilators must not spy on scripts from the back row, which is the watch sense.”

Good to know

a spy; spy on / for; spy network. Official: intelligence officer. Trap: pie / spike. History and news. Secret gathering, not open reporting.

Near in meaning

agent

New