ESPY Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

espy

verb

i-ˈspī

Definition of espy

as in to notice

to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes out of the corner of my eye I espied the squirrel making another raid on the bird feeder

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of espy The film’s comedy is built from a series of infinitesimal touches and chance intrusions, as when Édouard, espying Charles in the street, leaps from his seat at a sidewalk café and jostles a waiter bearing drinks. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 9 July 2024 Imprisoned by the Duke of Athens, the cousins espy the beautiful Emilia from their cell—and each man falls immediately in love. — Andrea Mays, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2024 If a basket-hanger was espied by the recipient, the recipient would give chase and try to steal a kiss from the basket-hanger. — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 30 Jan. 2024 Images taken from different realities, different spaces, times, places that have been sort of cut out and pasted together to create a new scene that depicts something that no human eye would ever have espied. — Philip Martin, Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2023 Resentful 1970s émigrés were prodding the West to espy its true enemy not in communism, but in an irredeemable Russia. — Ignat Solzhenitsyn, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2020 The cub tried to sneak up on him, but was quickly espied by the older lion. — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 20 June 2019 For instance, visitors can scan through an electronic infographic for terrariums filled with camouflaging Gulf Coast toads, then head outside onto more than 2 miles of dirt and boardwalk trails to espy the bayou's flora and fauna. — Beau Evans, NOLA.com, 6 Oct. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for espy

Verb

Senior lineman/tight end Zavion Brown has noticed Litke’s growth.

— Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
As petrified parents filed into the warehouse-like church nestled in a strip mall and took seats on folding chairs, Michelle noticed a woman near the front, sitting alone.

— Taylor Galgano, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of notice

Verb

The attacks, which saw 1,195 people killed and 251 taken into Gaza as hostages, triggered a major security crisis that led to three years of war on multiple fronts.

— Yarden Segev, NBC news, 27 Oct. 2026
The offense had a healthy-enough balance with the run game (more on that in a bit) to involve multiple pass-catchers, and the trio of leading receivers saw the immediate benefits.

— Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of see

Verb

Happy peasants, miserable millionaires Graham first spotted the pattern in China.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
The rapper, who turns 40 tomorrow, was spotted heading to an early birthday dinner at Mamo restaurant in New York City, dressed in a look that wouldn’t have been entirely out of place in Moss’s or Miller’s mid-aughts wardrobe.

— Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of spot

Verb

Two more original Glee cast members are eyeing a return for the Disney+/Hulu reboot.

— Denise Petski, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2026
Newsom, who's preparing to leave office in January and eyeing a 2028 presidential run, argued the mandate would improve workplace collaboration and innovation, which will help government better serve the public.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of eye

Browse Nearby Words

esprit

espy

espying

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“Espy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/espy. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of espy

verb

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