noun
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a person who inspects, esp an official who examines for compliance with regulations, standards, etc
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a police officer ranking below a superintendent or chief inspector and above a sergeant
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inspectorshipnoun
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preinspectornoun
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subinspectornoun
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subinspectorshipnoun
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inspectoraladjective
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inspectorialadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of inspector
1595–1605; < Latin, equivalent to inspec-, variant stem of inspicere ( see inspect) + -tor -tor
Explanation
An inspector is someone who looks into, observes, and examines things — it's also a word for a detective. The government employs many inspectors — an inspector has to check out the kitchen of a restaurant to see if they're following the rules for cleanliness. Hospitals need to let inspectors check things out, to make sure conditions are safe. Many types of business have inspectors — especially if there's a health concern. An inspector observes things carefully — an inspector checks things out.
Vocabulary lists containing inspector
"The Fun They Had"
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: spec
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A planning inspector ruled five caravans could stay across two plots, giving 16 months for the remaining caravans, hardstanding and part of a road to go.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Standard home inspections don’t necessarily involve checks for problems like lead, mold or termites — but that also varies by state and inspector.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
The U.S. took the same precaution two years earlier, when an inspector received a threatening phone call.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services has found problems in ABA billing in several states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The inspector, who is Polish, writes down 30,208.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Home inspectors don’t open up walls and remove flooring to check for hidden defects in a home, he noted.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
The party imposed formal penalties on more than 7,800 discipline inspectors in 2023, the highest annual total reported under Xi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
American inspectors in Michoacán, who monitor plantations and packing plants to ensure the fruit is pest-free, occasionally have found themselves in the cross-hairs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Federal inspectors detailed multiple instances of mammalian hair found in drugs produced at a Catalent plant in Bloomington, Ind., used in part to manufacture semaglutide.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Lawyers for each side met with inspectors of elections, whose job it was to approve or eliminate questionable proxies.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
