espionage
[noun]
Synonyms: spying, counter-intelligence, intelligence, surveillance, undercover work

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Related Words: observation, reconnaissance, sleuthing, surveillance, watching

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English Thesaurus: spy, agent/secret agent, double agent, mole, informer, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

es‧pi‧o‧nage /ˈespiənɑːʒ/ noun [uncountable]
[Date: 1700-1800; Language: French; Origin: espionnage, from espion 'spy']
the activity of secretly finding out secret information and giving it to a country’s enemies or a company’s competitors Synonym : spying ⇒ spy:
a campaign of industrial espionage against his main rival ⇒ counter-espionage

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

espionage
noun
ADJ. industrial The big computer companies are very worried about industrial espionage.
international | American, British, etc.
VERB + ESPIONAGE be engaged in, be involved in, engage in | be executed for, be expelled for, be imprisoned for Two members of the embassy staff had been expelled for espionage.
ESPIONAGE + NOUN activities
PREP. ~ against She was found guilty of espionage against the United States.
~ on behalf of espionage on behalf of foreign states
PHRASES the world of espionage the shadowy world of espionage
 ⇒ Note at CRIME (for more verbs)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

spy someone whose job is to find out secret information about another country:
Stalin controlled a network of spies.
The film is basically a spy story.
agent/secret agent someone who works for a government or police department in order to get secret information about another country or organization:
a secret agent working for MI5
He is the FBI’s best undercover agent (=one who works secretly and pretends to be someone else).
double agent someone who finds out an enemy country’s secrets for their own country but who also gives secrets to the enemy:
a former CIA double agent who also worked for the KGB
mole someone who works for an organization while secretly giving information to its enemies:
A mole in the government was leaking information to the press.
informer someone who secretly tells the police about criminal activities, especially for money:
Acting on information from an informer, the police raided the house.
espionage the work that spies do:
He is serving a 20-year prison sentence for espionage.
spying the action of secretly collecting information about a person, country, or organization:
Several embassy officials had been arrested for spying.
surveillance activity in which the police, army, etc watch a person or place carefully because they may be connected with criminal activities:
24-hour surveillance of the building
The police have had him under surveillance (=have been watching him)for months.
covert operations secret military activities against an enemy:
These planes are used by British Intelligence for covert operations.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

spying the action of secretly collecting information about a person, country, or organization:
Several embassy officials had been arrested for spying.
espionage spying. Espionage is more formal than spying:
Zakharov was charged with espionage.
The company carried out a campaign of industrial espionage against its main rival.
Double agents are quite commonplace in the world of espionage.
surveillance activity in which the police, army, etc watch a person or place carefully because they may be connected with criminal activities:
24-hour surveillance of the building
The police have had him under surveillance (=have been watching him)for months.
covert operations secret military activities against an enemy:
These planes are used by British Intelligence for covert operations.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲