detective work
Americannoun
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the professional activities of a detective; the activities involved in uncovering clues and making deductions leading to the identification of suspects in a crime.
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any activity that involves making careful observations or seeking out facts that are difficult to access, analyzing the information, and drawing conclusions.
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.
The research team, led by the University of Bradford, says the new discovery is "exciting" and the methodology could be replicated to do more art detective work.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Online detective work is nothing new but has gained attention in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Using old field photographs and careful detective work, Sereno and his colleagues retraced the locations in east-central Wyoming where several classic dinosaur mummies had first been uncovered in the early 1900s.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025
After hours of amateur detective work, Vic found out that his real name was actually—well, let’s just say his name was José Rey.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2025
Calder felt partly responsible—it had been his idea that Tommy do some detective work, and now his buddy had gotten in hot water because of it.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
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.
