Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1700-1800
Language: French
Origin: espionnage, from espion 'spy'

espionage

 noun
     
es‧pi‧o‧nage [uncountable]
the activity of secretly finding out secret information and giving it to a country's enemies or a company's competitors [= spying; ↪ spy]:
a campaign of industrial espionage against his main rival
 ➔ counter-espionage
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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