How to Use spy on in a Sentence

spy on

verb
  • You are being spied on by a pervert.
    — Jay Ruttenberg, New Yorker, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Some specifics there about them spying on American officials.
    — CBS News, 7 June 2026
  • The boats offer a low-effort way to spy on some of the coolest marine life in the region, including bat rays and even the occasional shark.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 2 July 2026
  • Dever said the women did not believe their coach’s intent was to record them getting undressed, but rather to spy on their discussion.
    — Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2026
  • Bill recently reached out to us asking if the Apple devices in his home are actually spying on him.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 26 May 2026
  • First, Alice has to go through a fitting for a too-tight dress, and then the queen demands that Alice spy on the Bridgertons?
    — Christina Grace Tucker, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2026
  • In reality, security researchers say the page installs a malicious web app that can spy on your device.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Mar. 2026
  • Anthropic wants assurance that its models will not be used for autonomous weapons or to spy on Americans.
    — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
  • This malware allows attackers to spy on systems, run commands, change system settings, add more malware and maintain long-term access.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 16 Feb. 2026
  • In the novel, Cathy and Heathcliff go together to spy on the dull but rich Lintons and their more luxurious home.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Texas is suing Netflix for allegedly spying on kids and collecting users' data without their consent.
    — Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 11 May 2026
  • Your hotel room should feel like a cozy home away from home after a chaotic day of travel, not a scary room in a building full of strangers, where you could be spied on, robbed, or bitten by insects in your sleep.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 26 June 2026
  • For much of this century, the big tech companies, as well as their investors, have often tried to avoid developing or promoting things that helped spy on people or kill them.
    — Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Feeling like he was being spied on, Manning delivered a message to coach Gary Kubiak.
    — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 23 Apr. 2026
  • One night, when trying to sneak into Heathcliff’s attic room in the stable, Catherine spies on two of her house servants in an intimate moment.
    — Amanda Luberto, AZCentral.com, 11 Feb. 2026
  • The administration enlists tech firms like Palantir to spy on residents in unprecedented ways.
    — Olivier Sylvain, Fortune, 16 May 2026
  • The French Drama follows Sylvie (Huppert), who spies on her neighbors across the street to gain inspiration for her new novel.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 15 May 2026
  • Iran also spied on Iraqi positions with rudimentary precursors to drones, an early use of one of the regime’s most effective weapons in its attempt to blockade the strait.
    — Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2026
  • However, both apps are still susceptible to account takeovers, which can allow someone to access an account on a second phone, paving the way for a hacker to steal access and spy on messages.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 Mar. 2026
  • Farhadi was especially interested in this aspect of the story — not just spying on your neighbor but actually hearing what is on the other side of that telescope.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 May 2026
  • Texas is suing streaming giant Netflix for allegedly spying on children and collecting users’ data without their knowledge or consent.
    — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 11 May 2026
  • So Frances, our aforementioned Chief Director of Drama, engages Wiggins, the butler, to spy on them.
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
  • In the 1995 film, Carrey’s pet detective character hides inside a fake rhinocerous to spy on unscrupulous types in a safari setting.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Instead of simply being bogged down and hammering on each other's positions, the reaction of both sides was to embrace military drones of various sizes to spy on or attack the enemy.
    — David Szondy may 02, New Atlas, 2 May 2026
  • Victims can end up infected with malware capable of spying on the machine and stealing data across their programs, including their iCloud Keychains.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 7 May 2026
  • In other words, OpenAI is making explicit that the terms of its contract should prevent its products from being used to spy on Americans en masse.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Three people told the Washington Examiner that Scott had become paranoid that Lewandowski was spying on him through his work phone and had bugged his office.
    — Anna Giaritelli, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2026
  • In addition, Bathula used video surveillance software installed on their computers to spy on coworkers, secretly recording the victims at work and at home without their consent.
    — Cbs Baltimore Staff, CBS News, 2 May 2026
  • The hearing was told that Eckert had sent people to spy on fellow Championship sides Oxford and Ipswich, but had been displeased with the quality of their findings.
    — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 20 May 2026
  • The row over allegations that Southampton sent an analyst to spy on Middlesbrough before the teams’ Championship play-off semi-final is kicking off big time.
    — Phil Hay, New York Times, 11 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spy on.' 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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