spies

NOUN

person who secretly finds out about another's business

Synonyms

STRONGEST

agent detective informer investigator mole operative secret agent secret service undercover agent

STRONG

emissary lookout observer patrol picket plant scout sleeper sleuth snoop spook spotter watcher

WEAK

double agent espionage agent foreign agent inside agent intelligencer

VERB

secretly follow, watch another's actions

Synonyms

STRONGEST

discover examine scrutinize snoop

STRONG

case eyeball glimpse meddle notice observe peep pry reconnoiter scout search shadow sleuth spot stag tail trail view watch

WEAK

catch sight of fish out get a load of keep under surveillance look for recon set eyes on stake out take in take note

Antonyms

STRONG

ignore miss neglect overlook

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He headed off to India and met a host of spivs, runners, fixers and Mr Bigs, who are referred to by their first names only.

From The Guardian • Apr. 11, 2013

As the global economic meltdown took hold, Mr Salmond blamed "spivs and speculators" for the problems which caused the takeover of HBOS, as the crisis of confidence in the financial sector hit Scotland.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2012

As an even more undiplomatic diplomat told me, “he cares more about those spivs in the City than he cares about us.”

From Slate • Dec. 12, 2011

We were the boys of Hue and Cry, who cornered Jack Warner's gang of spivs and racketeers on that bombsite by the Thames.

From The Guardian • Jul. 21, 2011

Kops hates himself, and he has reasons, as he drifts "up and down, delirious or sad, exhibitionistic and intense" among the assorted spivs and queers of Soho and London's wide bohemian fringelands.

From Time Magazine Archive