English edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈspaɪ.ɪŋ/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪɪŋ

Etymology 1 edit

From spy +‎ -ing.

Verb edit

spying

  1. present participle and gerund of spy

Etymology 2 edit

Inherited from Middle English spyinge, spiyng, spyeng, equivalent to spy +‎ -ing.

Noun edit

spying (countable and uncountable, plural spyings)

  1. espionage; the act of secretly gathering information
    • 1980, Amélie Rorty, Explaining Emotions, page 472:
      There are two ways in which the obsessive character of jealousy tends to exert itself: one is in the need to know, the endless tests and investigations and spyings that are so characteristic of jealousy.
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