private investigator

noun

: a person not a member of a police force who is licensed to do detective work (such as investigation of suspected wrongdoing or searching for missing persons)

Synonyms

• detective
• dick
• gumshoe
• hawkshaw
• investigator
• operative
• private detective
• private eye
• shamus [slang]
• sherlock
• sleuth
• sleuthhound

Examples of private investigator in a Sentence

She hired a private investigator to follow her husband.

the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator

Recent Examples on the Web

After the hearing, one of the Jane Does whom Masterson was convicted of raping said the same private investigator has reached out to people connected to her personal life. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2024

The GoFundMe will also help pay to hire a private investigator to look into the boy's death. —Sean Neumann, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024

The family has hired their own private investigator to investigate the case. —Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024

Owens hopped on her eponymous podcast on Tuesday (Nov. 19) to discuss Combs and how people appearing to be private investigators have also allegedly approached various social media influencers regarding their content on the accusations against Diddy. —Michael Saponara, Billboard, 20 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

private investigator

noun

: a person who does detective work and is not a member of a police force

Legal Definition

private investigator

noun

: a person not a member of a police force who is licensed to do detective work (as investigation of suspected wrongdoing or searching for missing persons)