Word · Frequency #6072
spy
从事间谍活动；暗中侦察；秘密侦察
to secretly watch or examine a person, place, or organization in order to collect information, especially as a spy
常与 on 连用，如 spy on someone
- 1.
To act as a spy.
充当间谍
- 2.
To spot; to catch sight of; to espy.
发现；瞥见；看到
- 3.
To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
仔细搜查；严密检查
- 4.
catch sight of
瞥见
- 5.
To explore; to see; to view; inspect and examine secretly, as a country.
探查；查看；视察并秘密检查(如一个国家)
瞥见；看见；发现；仔细查看；审视；搜寻；充当间谍；发现；瞥见；看到；仔细搜查；严密检查
In use
I spied a familiar face in the crowd.
She spies her friend across the busy street.
They often spy eagles nesting on the cliffs.
Verb forms
base spy · third person spies · -ing spying · past spied · past participle spied
规则动词
Connections
Collocations
- spy on (someone/something)
- 暗中监视（某人/某物）
- She suspected her coworker was spying on her emails.她怀疑同事在暗中监视她的电子邮件。
- spy for (a country)
- 为（某国）充当间谍
- He was convicted of spying for Russia.他因替俄罗斯从事间谍活动而被判有罪。
- spy out
- 暗中查明；摸清
- They sent scouts to spy out the enemy's position.他们派侦察兵去摸清敌人的阵地。
- spy into
- 打探；窥探（私事）
- Don't spy into other people's private affairs.不要窥探他人的私事。
- spy someone in the crowd
- 在人群中瞥见某人
- I spied my old classmate in the crowd at the concert.我在音乐会上的人群中瞥见了我的老同学。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象间谍 spy 弯着身子躲藏，眼睛偷偷扫视：s 像躲藏的身影，py 像偷看的目光，记住它既指‘侦察’也指‘瞥见’。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：intelligence work、news reports、espionage investigations 作为动词表示从事间谍活动或暗中侦察时，多用于新闻、历史叙述等正式场合；日常口语中更常用 spy on 这个搭配，语气中性。
Pronunciation & Spelling
以上单词与 spy /spaɪ/ 押韵，重读元音及之后的部分都是 /aɪ/。注意不要被拼写相似的词误导：copy /ˈkɒpi/、happy /ˈhæpi/ 虽以 y 结尾，但 y 发 /i/，与 spy 不押韵。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 2，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.