Phrase guide

industrial espionage

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪnˈdʌstɹɪəl ˈɛspiəˌnɑːʒ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: espionage, government, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Spying by an employer on labor union activities of employees and on labor unions.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Spying on industrial activities for military advantage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From industrial + espionage.

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَجَسُّس صِنَاعِيّ (tajassus ṣināʕiyy) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Chinese Mandarin: 商業間諜活動 /商业间谍活动 (shāngyè jiàndié huódòng) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Chinese Mandarin: 工業間諜活動 /工业间谍活动 (gōngyè jiàndié huódòng) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Chinese Mandarin: 商业间谍活动 (gōngyè jiàndié huódòng) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Czech: průmyslová špionáž — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Danish: industrispionage — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Dutch: bedrijfsspionage — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Esperanto: industria spionado — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Estonian: tööstusspionaaž — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Finnish: teollisuusvakoilu — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • French: espionnage industriel — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • German: Wirtschaftsspionage — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Greek: βιομηχανική κατασκοπεία (viomichanikí kataskopeía) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Hebrew: ריגול תעשייתי — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Hungarian: ipari kémkedés — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Italian: spionaggio industriale — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Japanese: 産業スパイ (sangyō supai) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Korean: 산업 스파이 (saneop seupai) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Lithuanian: ekonominė žvalgyba — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Malay: pengintipan industri — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Malay: pengintipan perindustrian — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Malay: espionaj industri — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Malay: espionaj perindustrian — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Norwegian: industrispionasje — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Persian: جاسوسی صنعتی (jâsusi-ye san'ati) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Polish: wywiad gospodarczy — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Portuguese: espionagem industrial — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Romanian: spionaj industrial — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Romanian: spionaj economic — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Russian: промы́шленный шпиона́ж (promýšlennyj špionáž) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Serbo-Croatian: industrijska špijunaža — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Spanish: espionaje industrial — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Swedish: industrispionage — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Thai: จารกรรมทางอุตสาหกรรม (jaa-rá-gam taang ùt-sǎa-hà-gam) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Ukrainian: промислове шпигунство (promyslove špyhunstvo) — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage
  • Vietnamese: tình báo kinh tế — use of clandestine methods to acquire secret information for commercial advantage