Spy Vocabulary
In my list of spy vocabulary you will find commonly used expressions to do with espionage and all things secret.
General Spy Vocabulary
double agent |
a person pretending to work as a spy for one government, while actually spying for another government |
decoy |
something designed to divert the enemy’s attention |
covert operation |
an operation planned in such a way that no one knows who sponsored or carried out the operation |
intelligence |
the gathering or distribution of secret information |
espionage |
spying |
counter intelligence |
the activity of preventing the enemy from obtaining secret information |
counter espionage |
spying aimed at an enemy's espionage system conspiracy |
conspiracy |
an agreement by 2 or more people to commit a crime |
classified information |
confidential or secret information |
clandestine operation |
a secret operation not known about outside the necessary government circles |
bug |
a secret listening or recording device |
polygraph |
lie detector test |
sleeper |
deep cover agent on a long term assignment |
terminated |
assassinated |
Verbs
to stake out |
to keep under surveillance |
your cover is blown |
you have been exposed as being a spy |
to infiltrate |
to successfully place an agent inside the enemy's organisation |
to conceal |
to hide |
to overthrow |
to deliberately cause the end or downfall of a government |
Idioms
behind closed doors |
when something is done privately with no observers |
to hold your tongue |
to stay silent and not say anything |
to cover your tracks |
to hide or destroy evidence of what you have done |
to be in the dark |
to be uninformed about something |
to turn a blind eye |
to pretend not to notice what someone is doing |
to be a fly on the wall |
to watch something without being noticed |
to keep a low profile |
to not attract public attention |
to keep a lid on something |
to control information so that others don’t find out about something |
off the record |
information that is not to be repeated publicly |
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