/ ˈespiənɑːʒ; NAmE / noun
[ U ] the activity of secretly getting important political or military information about another country or of finding out another company's secrets by using spies
SYN spying :
Some of the commercial activities were a cover for espionage.
She may call it research; I call it industrial espionage.
—see also counter-espionage
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WORD ORIGIN
late 18th cent.: from French espionnage , from espionner to spy, from espion a spy.