NOC

4 9.5

A spy who works without official protection or diplomatic cover

noun
/nɒk/

Jargon

: NOC

Now, every once in a while, someone is selected to be a nonofficial cover operative, or N-O-C - NOC.

So there are more Nocs than there are countries for historical reasons.

Examples

The NOC is the truest practitioner of espionage... always out there, always alone, unprotected.

The Recruit (2003)
You're the NOC, James.

The Recruit (2003)
If she is a NOC for a foreign government, which one?

Blog text (23)
You've been a NOC for so many years, There are very few people who actually know you.

Nothing But the Truth (2008)
I'm the NOC.

The Recruit (2003)
As a NOC, she collected vital information without revealing her true identity.
The agency relied on NOCs to infiltrate enemy organizations undetected.
Every NOC understands the risks of operating without government support.

Synonyms

undercover agent

vsNOC

27 4.1

A person who works secretly for the police to gather information while hiding who they are

operates secretly without official protection or recognized government cover

Surface Forms

NOC singular

NOCs plural

Morphology

NOC = N + O + C

This is an initialism (acronym) formed from the initial letters of a multiword phrase; the individual letters do not convey the meaning to learners.

Etymology

NOC comes from the phrase Non-Official Cover, where cover means a 'hidden identity' or 'official protection'. So a NOC is an undercover agent who works with 'no official protection', which explains why they have no government immunity if caught.