Spook Means a Ghost and Also a Spy
A spook is a ghost. American intelligence slang uses the same word for a covert agent.
A spook is a ghost, and in American slang a spy or intelligence officer. The spy sense follows the ghost logic exactly: someone who moves unseen and leaves no trace. It appears from the 1940s in American use and remains standard informal vocabulary in and around the intelligence world. The word came into American English from Dutch *spook*, a ghost, through New Netherland settlement. To *spook* an animal is to frighten it into sudden movement.
- A ghost. *A haunted spook.*
- A spy. *A CIA spook.*
- To frighten. *The noise spooked the horse.*
- Spooky — eerie. *A spooky house.*
- Dutch — *spook*, a ghost. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | spook | A spook. |
| Plural | spooks | Spooks. |
| Verb | spook | Spook them. |
| Adjective | spooky | Spooky. |
| Dutch | spook | A ghost. |
- The old mill is full of spooks.Ghost.
- The agency's spooks stayed silent.Spy.
- A gunshot spooked the herd.Verb.
Words for a spy
- Spook — American informal, from the ghost
- Mole — one who burrows into an organisation
- Asset — a recruited source, official terminology
- Handler — the officer who runs an agent
- Sleeper — an agent inactive until needed
Dutch *spook*, a ghost or apparition, entering American English through Dutch settlement.
Why are spies called spooks?
Because like ghosts they move unseen and leave no trace. The sense appears in American English from the 1940s.
Is spook a Dutch word?
Yes. It came into American English from Dutch spook, a ghost, through the settlement of New Netherland.