espionage

The practice of spying or using spies to obtain secret political, military, or commercial information.

• (related: spy /spaɪ/ n/v
• espion— archaic)

• industrial espionage
• corporate espionage
• espionage charges
• espionage ring
• acts of espionage

1. 1.He was arrested on charges of espionage after passing classified documents to a foreign government. (state spying)
2. 2.Industrial espionage cost the tech sector billions in stolen intellectual property last year. (corporate spying)

• spying/ˈspaɪɪŋ/— the act of secretly gathering information — simpler
• intelligence gathering (the systematic collection of information — official term)
• surveillance/sərˈveɪləns/— close observation — a component of espionage

from French "espionnage" — "espionner" (to spy) — "espion" (spy), from Italian "spione" — ultimately from Germanic "spehon" (to spy)