confidential informant

[kon-fi-den-shuhl in-fawr-muhnt]

noun

1. a person who works undercover for law enforcement to gather information about felonious criminal activities: some confidential informants are criminals themselves, hired to work undercover in exchange for leniency or exoneration: CI

   We’re told that this elusive drug lord was finally taken down thanks largely to a confidential informant, whose identity remains fiercely protected.

Word History and Origins

Origin of confidential informant¹

First recorded in 1940–45