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.
Following the burglary, Paul has joined forces with Compare the Market, which commissioned a licensed private investigator to examine the publicly available digital footprints of nine volunteers.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Starring Maria Sten as a private investigator, this new show on Prime Video follows the entertaining formula of Lee Child’s thriller series.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
"When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a private investigator," she said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
The paper said that many had, including a private investigator hacking into a phone belonging to the murdered teenager Milly Dowler, for a News of the World story.
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
