spy out
1spy out — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms spy out : present tense I/you/we/they spy out he/she/it spies out present participle spying out past tense spied out past participle spied out literary 1) same as spy II, 2) He quickly spied out the waiter. 2) …
2spy out the land — ˌspy out the ˈland idiom to collect information before deciding what to do Main entry: ↑spyidiom …
3spy out the land — collect information about a situation before deciding how to act. → spy …
4spy out — …
5spy out the land — scout the country, visit and scope the area …
6spy — [spī] vt. spied, spying [ME spien < OFr espier < OHG spehōn, to search out, examine < IE base * spek̑ , to spy, watch closely > L specere, to see, Sans spaśati, (he) sees, Gr skopein, to observe] 1. to watch or observe closely and… …
7Spy — (sp[imac]), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Spied} (sp[imac]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Spying}.] [OE. spien, espien, OF. espier, F. [ e]pier, OHG. speh[=o]n, G. sp[ a]hen; akin to L. specere to see, Skr. spa[,c]. [root] 169. Cf. {Espy}, v. t., {Aspect}, {Auspice} …
8spy — ► NOUN (pl. spies) 1) a person employed to collect and report secret information on an enemy or competitor. 2) a person or device that observes others secretly. ► VERB (spies, spied) 1) be a spy. 2) ( …
9spy — spy1 [spaı] n plural spies someone whose job it is to find out secret information about another country, organization, or group = ↑secret agent British/Russian/foreign etc spy ▪ a Soviet spy spy ring/network (=an organized group of spies) spy… …
10spy — spy1 [ spaı ] verb * 1. ) intransitive to work as a spy: He was accused of spying for a foreign government. 2. ) spy or spy out transitive MAINLY LITERARY to notice someone or something: I spy a mistake. spy on phrasal verb transitive spy on… …
