Dictionary
es•pi•o•nage
Pronunciation: (es'pē-u-näzh", -nij, es"pē-u-näzh'), [key]—
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. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.