FBI

American

[ef-bee-ahy] / ˈɛfˈbiˈaɪ /

noun

U.S. Government.

Federal Bureau of Investigation: the federal agency charged with investigations for the Attorney General and with safeguarding national security.

FBI British

abbreviation

Federal Bureau of Investigation; an agency of the Justice Department responsible for investigating violations of Federal laws

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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 FBI is currently handling an investigation into the shooting.

From Salon • Jul. 9, 2026

Later, an FBI agent visited her at home, but she told me she had nothing of use to say.

From Slate • Jul. 7, 2026

Last year, an FBI agent came across one of the group’s requests on Telegram, according to a court request filed by the FBI to seize the funds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 4, 2026

The billionaire businessman, in his fifties -- his exact age is unknown -- was arrested by the FBI in March 2023 in his luxury Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park.

From Barron's • Jun. 30, 2026

Seconds passed while both of them stared hard at the list, the three-day-old list from the FBI that contained information no one should have been able to know until today.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023