informer
Americannoun
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a person who informs against another, especially for money or other reward.
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a person who informs or communicates information or news; informant.
noun
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a person who informs against someone, esp a criminal
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a person who provides information
he was the President's financial informer
Etymology
Origin of informer
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at inform 1, -er 1
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.
There is something about a healthy personality that feels repelled by a snoop, a snitch, a stool pigeon, an informer.
From Salon • Sep. 28, 2025
The key witness in convicting the suspects - Jack Whomes and Michael Steele - was police informer and so-called supergrass Darren Nicholls, from Braintree, who gave evidence against his former friends at their trial.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2025
He had lived across the street from DeLorean’s home in San Diego County and had turned informer in hopes of leniency.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2024
Moreland's daughter, Shauna, said she wanted to know why, if her mother was an informer, the state had not intervened to save her.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2024
He told Uncle that the guards had asked him to be an informer.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
