private detective

as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons when the police insisted that it was an accident and not murder, she hired a private detective

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of private detective Starring and executive-produced by Farrell (who currently headlines HBO’s The Penguin), Sugar is a contemporary and unique take on the private detective genre. Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 2 Oct. 2024 There is a big difference between hiring a skilled private detective and pulling an OSINT report at your convenience. Tom Madsen, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024 After three years of high school heroism on Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), brooding bloodsucker Angel got his own spinoff series, becoming a private detective stalking the streets of a noir-ish Los Angeles. Danny Horn, EW.com, 5 Oct. 2024 Monaghan and Cannavale have been typecast as LAPD investigators, while Bacon is a hard, grizzled private detective. Wolfgang Ruth, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for private detective 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private detective
Noun
  • City detectives and school police collaborated with the office of District Attorney Paul F. Tucker to identify and charge the teenagers involved, Tucker said in a statement.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
  • As in most — all? — detective fiction, one case reveals another; suspense springs from never knowing exactly where we’re headed.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • The lieutenant also said investigators have taken statements from the dozens of witnesses who were in the area, and are also gathering video surveillance.
    NBC San Diego, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
  • Mike Morgan, director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, said Thursday that investigators were leaning toward ruling the start of the fire as human-caused.
    Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Once there, he gets wrapped up in a mystery, befriends a private eye named Perry (Val Kilmer), and reconnects with Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), a childhood crush.
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 17 Nov. 2024
  • The indie is set in a near future society ruled by sentient artificial intelligence and has a private eye investigate a murder case only to discover a rebel group capable of undermining the digital overlord.
    Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
  • Leaf’s deputy and private investigator grilled several town clerks and managed to seize one voting machine, according to local reports and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
    Rich Schapiro, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2024
  • As John Black, across more than 4,200 episodes, Hogestyn was a spy, mercenary, police officer, private investigator and secret agent.
    Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near private detective

Cite this Entry

“Private detective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20detective. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.

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