English edit

Etymology edit

spook +‎ -dom

Pronunciation edit

  • (file)

Noun edit

spookdom (uncountable)

  1. (slang) The realm or sphere of spies.
    • 2008 February 3, William Safire, “Dirty Tricks”, in New York Times[1]:
      In a 1967 article about Richard Helms, then the new director of Central Intelligence, Time made the linguistic jump to spookdom: “When he surfaced in 1952, it was as deputy to the chief of the plans division, the so-called ‘dirty tricks’ department, which handles espionage and other undercover operations.”