Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [spahy]
- /spaɪ/
- /spaɪ/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [spahy]
- /spaɪ/
Definitions of spied word
- noun plural spied a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs. 1
- noun plural spied a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others. 1
- noun plural spied a person who seeks to obtain confidential information about the activities, plans, methods, etc., of an organization or person, especially one who is employed for this purpose by a competitor: an industrial spy. 1
- noun plural spied the act of spying. 1
- verb without object spied to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often followed by on or upon). 1
- verb without object spied to act as a spy; engage in espionage. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of spied
First appearance:
before 1200 One of the 9% oldest English words
1200-50; (v.) Middle English spien, aphetic variant of espien to espy; (noun) Middle English, aphetic variant of espy a spy < Old French espie
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Spied
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
spied popularity
A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 96% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
According to our data about 55% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.
spied usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for spied
verb spied
- apperceived — Simple past tense and past participle of apperceive.
- eavesdropped — Simple past tense and past participle of eavesdrop.
- ferreted — Simple past tense and past participle of ferret.
- glimpsed — a very brief, passing look, sight, or view.
- looked — to turn one's eyes toward something or in some direction in order to see: He looked toward the western horizon and saw the returning planes.
adjective spied
- eyeballed — Simple past tense and past participle of eyeball.
noun spied
- narced — Simple past tense and past participle of narc.