- 1[intransitive] to collect secret information about another country, organization, or person He spied for his government for more than ten years.
- 2[transitive] spy somebody/something (literary or formal) to suddenly see or notice someone or something In the distance we spied the Pacific for the first time. Phrasal Verbsspy onspy out
spy
verbNAmE//spaɪ//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they spy he / she / it spies
past simple spied
-ing form spying
Check pronunciation: spy