noun
-
a person who inspects, esp an official who examines for compliance with regulations, standards, etc
-
a police officer ranking below a superintendent or chief inspector and above a sergeant
Other Word Forms
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.
A report carried out by the UK government's independent immigration inspector last year found cases where adult migrants had been classified as children - and cases where child migrants had been wrongly classified as adults.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
"We are now, unfortunately, the best in the world," says Lt Col Yuriy Myronenko, an inspector general at Ukraine's Ministry of Defence.
From BBC • May 21, 2026
Reports from the Treasury inspector general for tax administration show examples.
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
A City Council proposal to explicitly grant the inspector general access to records stalled and was not voted out of committee.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Papers to be held by Carl, another set by Zenhichi, a third set for any inspector wanted to see them.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
