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:
The State Department’s inspector general is looking into the allegations, according to an unnamed U.S. official who spoke with the Associated Press.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
HSE inspector Robert Gidman told the court the "tragic incident" could have been prevented if the company had "adequate arrangements to protect its workers from harm".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 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
“I say put it in!” the second inspector replied.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
After the 2023 law took effect, city inspectors issued him a number of violations, including for the door, which he then had to tear down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
There are also 17 independent inspectors general, each with their own staff, finding inefficiencies in individual departments.
From MarketWatch ● 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
Leon and Marshall were leaning over a map they were drawing of the grounds for the inspectors benefit.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
