French word

espion

Pronunciation

IPA/ɛspjɔ̃/

Meaning

  • masculine nounspy

Example

C'est un espion.

He is a spy.

Illustration for espion (spy)

More examples

La police a arrêté un espion infiltré.

The police arrested an undercover spy.

Core concept

A person working in the shadows who gathers useful facts and forwards them to a hidden recipient.

Common phrases

  • un espion infiltré

    an undercover spy

  • un espion ennemi

    an enemy spy

Similar words

agent secret: A professional operative who gathers information on secret missions for a state or organization.
taupe: A covert insider who infiltrates an organization and passes internal information outside.
mouchard: A person who secretly reports other people's secrets or actions.
informateur: A person who gathers information and provides it to a specific recipient.

Definition in French

Personne chargée de collecter clandestinement des renseignements au profit d'un tiers.

Word origin

French borrowed espion from Italian spione, an agent noun related to spiare, while French espier belongs to the same historical spy-word family.

Usage tips

  • Espion usually suggests organized or state intelligence, whereas informateur is a broader term for someone who supplies information.

Related words

Word lists with this word