How to Use spy in a Sentence

spy

1 of 2 verb
  • I spy a motel off in the distance, so let's spend the night there.
  • They were accused of spying for a foreign government.
  • And don’t forget spying whale spouts from the coastal cliffs, sans guardrails!
    — Crai S Bower, Outside, 18 Dec. 2025
  • Looking over my shoulder, my son spied a small white box in my carry-on.
    — Katie James Watkinson, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Jan. 2024
  • And Mindi said at one point she was being spied upon.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
  • The soaring golden orbs may have fooled my eager spying eyes a few times.
    — Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 20 Dec. 2025
  • Not long after, a neighbor spied the smoke behind the house and smelled the chicken.
    — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2023
  • The private beach has gentle surf and at low tide, kids can spy little sea creatures in the tide pools.
    — Karen Cicero, Good Housekeeping, 19 May 2022
  • Passengers may spy mergansers and mallards, deer, and even black bears.
    — Mark Orwoll, Travel + Leisure, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Expect to spy herds of elephants or noisy hippos wading in the river just a few feet away.
    — Todd Plummer, Robb Report, 19 June 2026
  • Stroll a path and look down and spy some smiling sunflowers hidden in the bushes.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Lego aficionados or those who grew up with the sets will likely spy many an allusion to past toys.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • My job, bluntly, was to spy, but to do it in a way that wasn’t baldly obvious either.
    — Literary Hub, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Idling along the road one day for a lunch break, Campos spied someone building houses.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Except from one small group, who spied the women coming out of the pool and seemed to fix on them with special focus.
    — Literary Hub, 3 June 2026
  • Even the God of Thunder couldn't help but spy on our track day with a Z06.
    — Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 29 Dec. 2022
  • Each side flies surveillance drones to spy on the other and to identify targets to shell.
    — Sudarsan Raghavan, Anchorage Daily News, 21 May 2022
  • We’re told to watch for fire ants, will spy tiny hopping frogs and many tree branches contain some sort of colorful pet.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Here, guests will spy a hanging monkey, trying to manipulate the clock to give him more food.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 16 Nov. 2023
  • Bring binoculars to spy great views of mountaineers making summit bids higher on the peak.
    — Joe Jackson, San Francisco Chronicle, 22 Apr. 2022
  • Their romance was confirmed a few months later when they were spied sharing a kiss in London.
    — Alex Kessler, Glamour, 4 Oct. 2023
  • This is not the first time an American has been accused of spying for Iran.
    — Sophia Mandt, The Washington Examiner, 30 June 2026
  • Soon after, Peterson spied a dark object on the ship’s starboard side.
    — Longreads, 4 May 2023
  • Late one night, Clark spies what appears to be a sliver of light coming through a crack in the wall of the store’s basement.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 June 2026
  • McCann spied an errant pumpkin.
    — Ben McGrath, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Where skeptics spied a bubble, the revolution’s leaders saw the dawn of a new era of abundance.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Adults would look around, trying to spy the location of the body behind the disembodied voice.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 May 2026
  • Officials here have long had concerns that the Chinese government could use the drones to spy.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026
  • Close had opened his eyes long enough to spy Sahlins and insist, for the last time, that improv was a legitimate art form.
    — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Close had opened his eyes long enough to spy Sahlins and insist, for the last time, that improv was a legitimate art form.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026

spy

2 of 2 noun
  • My coworker is a spy for the boss.
  • He was a spy for the CIA.
  • This is, father and son spy time.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Sounds like something out of a spy movie.
    — Zev Fima, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026
  • They might have been painted by a spy.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
  • That’s what makes a good spy story fun.
    — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
  • That is, after all, a spy’s skill.
    — Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Pitman used to plant spy cams and spoof phone numbers.
    — Paige Williams, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
  • Zoe Saldaña goes to war in the new look at the spy thriller.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 11 June 2026
  • For decades, other countries have had spy movies.
    — ABC News, 14 Mar. 2026
  • Franklin remained so tight-lipped that some wrote him off as a British spy.
    — Stacy Schiff, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Believable as a spy and as an action star.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Daisy in the show is closer to a spy than a grieving fish out of water.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 16 Apr. 2026
  • Roque, who died last year, denied serving as a Cuban spy.
    — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 20 May 2026
  • Not everybody in there is a super spy.
    — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2025
  • The pair played former CIA spies.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Mossad is the Israeli spy agency.
    — Matthew Lee, Chicago Tribune, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The book is about a former jet-setting spy who has been stuck behind a desk for years.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • The spy agency is not sharing them anymore.
    — Laurie Kellman, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
  • The spy agency is not sharing them anymore.
    — ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
  • His job is to communicate between the spy boy and the big chief.
    — Will Croxton, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
  • And holding onto the notion that Daisy is a spy.
    — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The spy agency isn't sharing them anymore.
    — CBS News, 6 Apr. 2026
  • Can the kids become spies themselves in time to rescue their parents and save the world?
    — Joey Morona, cleveland, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Here’s hoping a wedding reception spy is on the guest list.
    — Assistant Editor, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026
  • Much is being kept under wraps still, but that’s the best way to go into a spy caper.
    — Lucy Ford, Time, 27 Dec. 2025
  • In the Kipling novel, the game is part of Kim’s training to be a spy.
    — Sadia Shepard, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
  • The regime also sent spy drones cruising down streets to detect shouts of protest slogans.
    — The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 Jan. 2026
  • This spy thriller's title isn't a cheeky play on words or clever pun tied to its cloak-and-dagger action.
    — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026
  • In the role, Pulte would oversee all of the nation's spy agencies.
    — Caitlin Yilek, CBS News, 11 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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