spymaster

noun

spy·​mas·​ter ˈspī-ˌma-stər How to pronounce spymaster (audio)
: the head of a ring of spies : a director of intelligence

Examples of spymaster in a Sentence

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When spymaster George Smiley presents one final mission — dangerous, deceptive, and deeply personal — Leamas agrees to stay in the game. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 21 May 2025 Past high-profile campaigns have included targeting three nuclear research laboratories in the U.S. in the summer of 2022, and the publishing of the private emails of former British spymaster Richard Dearlove, alongside pro-Brexit individuals, in an operation revealed in May 2022. Deborah Sophia, USA Today, 9 May 2025 Rogg casts him as the nation’s first great spymaster, and he is joined in this assessment by Mark M. Lowenthal, the author of Vigilance Is Not Enough. James Santel, The Atlantic, 8 May 2025 According to the plan, the Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine would trigger regime change in Kyiv, and a new pro-Moscow leadership, sponsored by FSB spymasters, would take control of the country. Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 27 July 2022 See All Example Sentences for spymaster

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spymaster was in 1938

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Cite this Entry

“Spymaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spymaster. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.

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