noun
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a person who inspects, esp an official who examines for compliance with regulations, standards, etc
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a police officer ranking below a superintendent or chief inspector and above a sergeant
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inspectorshipnoun
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preinspectornoun
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subinspectornoun
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subinspectorshipnoun
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inspectoraladjective
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inspectorialadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of inspector
1595–1605; < Latin, equivalent to inspec-, variant stem of inspicere ( see inspect) + -tor -tor
Explanation
An inspector is someone who looks into, observes, and examines things — it's also a word for a detective. The government employs many inspectors — an inspector has to check out the kitchen of a restaurant to see if they're following the rules for cleanliness. Hospitals need to let inspectors check things out, to make sure conditions are safe. Many types of business have inspectors — especially if there's a health concern. An inspector observes things carefully — an inspector checks things out.
Vocabulary lists containing inspector
"The Fun They Had"
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: spec
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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:
Reyes, 34, an aerospace quality inspector, said he and is family no longer feel safe living in Compton after what happened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
On Friday, Ofsted's chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver said an independent survey of education providers showed it was "on the right track" with inspections.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Two weeks later, the Fed’s inspector general reported on the central bank’s headquarters renovation.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
Just that morning, a City of Durham Fire Department inspector had visited the brewery and provided Ponysaurus with a fresh business occupancy inspection.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Then the inspector said she had a possible lead.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
There are also 17 independent inspectors general, each with their own staff, finding inefficiencies in individual departments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Medical safety inspectors described the site on Lister Lane as a "building site" and said there was evidence of people living there.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Environmental inspectors who rushed to two fires discovered 318 tonnes of toxic industrial dust that had been stored for months in a chrome factory, AlbChrome, with no transfer contracts for its treatment or safe disposal.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
In all, nearly 18,000 regulatory actions were taken by county pesticide safety inspectors across California from the start of 2020 through June 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
NB: Youngest son currently at home, seriously ill, Ministry inspectors have confirmed.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
