as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator
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Examples of private investigator in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The show followed Kristen Bell as the titular Veronica Mars, a high school student who helps her father as a private investigator.
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Colson Thayer, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2024
That may be why private investigator Jackson Brodie has this tendency to try to reassign blame to a guiltier party, in Kate Atkinson’s bestselling series.
—Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2024
Dominick opened up in 2007 to Slate about hiring a private investigator to track down Sweeney, who moved to the Pacific Northwest and changed his name to John Maura.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Since that investigation, a whistleblower has sued the state, a top cannabis official resigned and the state hired a private investigator, Paige reports.
—Hunter Clauss, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for private investigator 
Colson Thayer, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2024
That may be why private investigator Jackson Brodie has this tendency to try to reassign blame to a guiltier party, in Kate Atkinson’s bestselling series.
—Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2024
Dominick opened up in 2007 to Slate about hiring a private investigator to track down Sweeney, who moved to the Pacific Northwest and changed his name to John Maura.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Since that investigation, a whistleblower has sued the state, a top cannabis official resigned and the state hired a private investigator, Paige reports.
—Hunter Clauss, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for private investigator
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'private investigator.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Private investigator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20investigator. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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