private investigator
Americannoun
-
private investigators
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of private investigator
First recorded in 1935–40
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.
George Pelecanos’s most recent novel starring Derek Strange, a black cop turned private investigator in Washington, D.C., came out in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a private investigator," she said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
His friends hired a private investigator and hung fliers begging him to come back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
One of those paid, the private investigator Gavin Burrows, seemed to have entered two statements.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
He could have gotten Nazario to hire the best private investigator in the city and traced her all the way to Florida.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
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.
