detective

American  

[dih-tek-tiv] / dɪˈtɛk tɪv /

noun

• detectives
  plural

1. a member of the police force or a private investigator whose function is to obtain information and evidence, as of offenses against the law.

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adjective

1. of or relating to detection or detectives.

   a detective story.

2. serving to detect; detecting.

   various detective devices.

detective British  

/ dɪˈtɛktɪv /

noun

1. 1. a police officer who investigates crimes

   2. See private detective

   3. ( as modifier )

      a detective story

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adjective

1. used in or serving for detection

2. serving to detect

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• detectives
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of detective

First recorded in 1830–40; detect + -ive

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Explanation

Whether it's a police detective who investigates crimes or a private detective hired to find a missing person, a detective is someone whose job is to find out hard-to-get information. Detective comes from the Latin root detectus meaning to uncover or expose. Detectives detect, or discern and uncover the truth, the way a dog might detect an odor and uncover a bone. Sherlock Holmes, perhaps the most famous detective in fiction, used disguises, deductive reasoning and forensics to solve crimes. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," he famously said.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

detective detectives

Mr. Wainwright gives a vastly more serious, even grim, portrayal of the maverick Parisian detective, but he is granted humanity by his supporting cast, including my favorite, James Northcote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The revelation inspired a small genre of internet consumer detective work.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

He was a detective constable and lead investigator in the case of two-year-old Ethan Ives-Griffiths, whose grandparents were jailed for murder last year, and has given evidence in other high-profile murder trials in north Wales.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Saavedra, a former detective and federal task force officer, admitted in his plea agreement that his company began providing security to Iza around August 2021.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Any fool could solve a simple crime, the thinking went, but it would take a brilliant crime for a brilliant detective to truly show his worth.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

After a deluge of hateful messages, another man misidentified as Winston Lee posted a personal appeal to TikTok detectives.

From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026

An "unprecedented" number of murder investigations this year could see Gwent Police hire detectives on "zero-hour" style contracts to cope with demand.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Cobb County Police Department detectives and the Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner’s office, which oversees amusement parks in the state, are investigating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The teen’s mother, Ofelia Garcia Ortega, 36, was arrested by Monterey County sheriff’s detectives on Tuesday afternoon at the Salinas Superior Courthouse, the agency said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

While the detectives were trying to establish a connection between the slayings of Charles Whitehorn and Anna Brown, Comstock passed on tidbits that he collected from his network of informants.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

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Related Words

• agent
• informer
• police officer
• private eye
• private investigator
• prosecutor
• reporter
• sleuth
• spy

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