espionage

espionage
/es"pee euh nahzh', -nij, es'pee euh nahzh"/, n.
1. the act or practice of spying.
2. the use of spies by a government to discover the military and political secrets of other nations.
3. the use of spies by a corporation or the like to acquire the plans, technical knowledge, etc., of a competitor: industrial espionage.
[1785-95; < F espionnage, MF espionage, equiv. to espionn(er) to spy (deriv. of espion spy < It spione < Gmc; akin to G spähen to look out) + -age -AGE]

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Practice of obtaining military, political, commercial, or other secret information by means of spies or illegal monitoring devices.

It is sometimes distinguished from the broader category of intelligence gathering by its aggressive nature and its illegality. Counterespionage efforts are directed at detecting and thwarting espionage by others.

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      process of obtaining military, political, commercial, or other secret information by means of spies, secret agents, or illegal monitoring devices. Espionage is sometimes distinguished from the broader category of intelligence gathering by its aggressive nature and its illegality. See intelligence.

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Universalium. 2010.

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