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 spies word
- noun plural spies 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 spies a person who keeps close and secret watch on the actions and words of another or others. 1
- noun plural spies 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 spies the act of spying. 1
- verb without object spies to observe secretively or furtively with hostile intent (often followed by on or upon). 1
- verb without object spies to act as a spy; engage in espionage. 1
Information block about the term
Origin of spies
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 Spies
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
spies 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.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".
spies usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for spies
noun spies
- canaries — Plural form of canary.
- detectives — Plural form of detective.
- dicks — Plural form of dick.
- disputants — Plural form of disputant.
- emissaries — Plural form of emissary.
Top questions with spies
- where was spies like us filmed?