house detective

American  

noun

1. an employee of a department store, hotel, etc., employed to prevent thefts, violations of regulations, or other forms of misconduct on the part of patrons.

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Etymology

Origin of house detective

An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900

Example Sentences

He’s got the look of a house detective.

From Golf Digest

He has retired from the Suffolk County, Long Island, police force and now works for a second-rate hotel where he drives a shuttle bus and doubles as house detective.

From Washington Post

I was asked more than once to leave the Plaza Hotel, ushered out by the house detective.

From New York Times

In answer to his inquiries at the desk he learned that Mrs. Dodge had stopped at the hotel several times before and the house detective assured him that there was nothing suspicious about her conduct.

From Project Gutenberg

I suspect that he was a "plant," or a plain-clothes house detective, placed there on purpose to deceive me.

From Project Gutenberg