espionage
noun /ˈespiənɑːʒ/
  /ˈespiənɑːʒ/
[uncountable]- the activity of secretly getting important political or military information about another country or of finding out another company’s secrets by using spies synonym spying
- Some of the commercial activities were a cover for espionage.
 - She may call it research; I call it industrial espionage.
 
Extra Examples- She was found guilty of espionage against the United States.
 - The big computer companies are very worried about industrial espionage.
 - Two members of the embassy staff had been expelled for espionage.
 - espionage on behalf of foreign states
 - evidence of espionage activities in Australia
 - one of the most important espionage cases of the 20th century
 - the shadowy world of espionage
 
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- corporate
 - economic
 - industrial
 - …
 
- be engaged in
 - be involved in
 - conduct
 - …
 
- activity
 - operations
 - case
 - …
 
- espionage against
 - espionage on behalf of
 
- the world of espionage
 
Word Originlate 18th cent.: from French espionnage, from espionner ‘to spy’, from espion ‘a spy’.