investigator
Britishnoun
Explanation
Every crime novel has an investigator, someone whose job it is to discover the truth. Not all investigators solve crimes, but to be an investigator you need to work hard to figure things out. A private investigator knocks at your door. Do you let him in? He probably only wants to ask questions, because that’s what investigators do: they research. Scientists are investigators, so are police officers, and even your friend who reads lots of books about butterflies can be considered an investigator. Rooted in the Latin word vestigare, meaning “trace out,” investigators gather facts in order to trace out the whole picture.
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.
Private investigator Thomas McNally sees no link between the disappearance of Melissa Casias and some 10 other missing or deceased scientists.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
The couple never considered the treatment until a representative of Lustig, the trial investigator, reached out.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Jiang served as principal investigator, working with colleagues from USF's Genomics, Global Health Infectious Disease Research Center and departments including anthropology, molecular medicine and history.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026
Dr Rebecca Clark, the trial's national co-ordinating investigator, based at Layton Medical Centre, Blackpool, said the strain was "evolving and spreading across animal species".
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
The company investigator, Scott Kimbrough, concluded that, no, Reggie had not hydroplaned.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
