investigator
Britishnoun
Explanation
Every crime novel has an investigator, someone whose job it is to discover the truth. Not all investigators solve crimes, but to be an investigator you need to work hard to figure things out. A private investigator knocks at your door. Do you let him in? He probably only wants to ask questions, because that’s what investigators do: they research. Scientists are investigators, so are police officers, and even your friend who reads lots of books about butterflies can be considered an investigator. Rooted in the Latin word vestigare, meaning “trace out,” investigators gather facts in order to trace out the whole picture.
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.
“The boats keep going. The Pacific is vast,” said Ervyn Norza, a former police investigator who researches the drug trade for Rosario University in Bogotá.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Owen said Kershaw was interviewed by a financial investigator in November 2024, admitted what she had done and had been arrested by police.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
And now, a second independent investigator has been brought on by a Cornell committee to look into the university’s conduct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Dr. Nathaniel Putzig of the Planetary Science Institute will serve as the principal investigator for GIMLI.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
If he’s some sort of private investigator for Minerwa.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
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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.
