undercover agent
18
4.1
- noun
- /ˌʌndərˈkʌvər ˈeɪdʒənt/
:
agente encubierto
- The FBI sent an undercover agent to gather evidence on the suspected crime ring.
But the undercover agent met with him and they've got all sorts of films.
- But the undercover agent met with him and they've got all sorts of films.
- Start of provocations by undercover agents and locals, then trying to protect native Russians at this territory.
Examples
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We have the testimony of Mrs. Markward, the undercover agent for the FBI... ...stating that Annie Lee Moss was a member, a dues-paying member... ...of the Communist Party... ...the Northeast Club of the Communist Party.
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He and his wife were actually both undercover agents all over the world.
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Send us and a group of undercover agents.
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Two of our undercover agents were killed.
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I had expected more of them; maybe there were many undercover agents around?
Fiction book (2002) -
I'm an undercover agent for the United States Secret Service.
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They relied on at least one undercover agent to produce their analysis.
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Unfortunately, the undercover agent who actually captured the thieves declined to be interviewed on camera.
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She was an ideal undercover agent, being a respectable, trustworthy, grandmotherly type.
Fiction book (2000) -
He sent an undercover agent to the exhibition who covertly modeled the giant's shape in a lump of wax.
Academic text (2005)
Synonyms
623
2.9
A person who secretly collects information for a government or company
201
7.3
A person who works as a secret agent or detective
33
3.7
A person who works for the government to collect and report secret information about threats to the country
27
3.4
A person who gathers hidden information for a government about enemies
13
3.0
A person who secretly works for a government to get information about the country's safety
12
8.2
A person who secretly enters a place to get secret information or cause harm
1
5.8
A person who secretly gets information for another country or company
A person who works secretly inside another group to get information
How Secret
82
8.2
623
2.9
27
3.4
18
4.1
165
5.6
- Formal
∞
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is transparently built from 'undercover' (secretive, working in disguise) + 'agent' (a person who acts on behalf of others), so the combined meaning 'a person who works secretly to gather information' is directly derivable. This adjective+noun composition is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern (e.g., Spanish 'agente encubierto'), so an average B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.
Etymology
Undercover agent comes from the picture of someone working under a cover — hidden like a person under a blanket or wearing a disguise so they are not seen. An agent is a person working for the police or government, so an undercover agent hides their true identity to gather information, which is why it means 'a person who works in secret'.