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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
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
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
A customer at a reptile trade show turned out to be a federal informer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
The informer, Floyd Wells, might easily have invented his story; such tale-telling was not infrequently undertaken by prisoners who hoped to win favor or attract official notice.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
US forces found Maduro because of inside informers, the stepfather said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
It was, Mr. Corera writes, a “dead-end job,” but it offered access to documents that revealed the organization’s dark secrets, such as its labyrinth of informers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
It is a town full of exiles, planning revolution, waiting for asylum offers, always fearful of spies and informers, and living in a state of almost constant anxiety.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2024
And as in any prison, the wardens select “trusties” among the prisoners for rewards and to serve as informers.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2023
He watched the passersby watching him, and played a little game with himself, trying to sort the informers from the rest.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
