spookdom

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

The realm or sphere of spies.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

In a 1967 article about Richard Helms, then the new director of Central Intelligence, Time made the linguistic jump to spookdom: “When he surfaced in 1952, it was as deputy to the chief of the plans division, the so-called ‘dirty tricks’ department, which handles espionage and other undercover opera

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “spookdom” mean?

The realm or sphere of spies.

Is “spookdom” formal or informal?

spookdom is generally slang.