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.
Private investigator Thomas McNally is working to dispel online speculation linking Melissa Casias’s disappearance to the scientists.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
According to the military investigator, this was not to preach a radical form of Islam with the end of destabilising the country, but to act as a "spiritual 'prayer-warrior' for the operation".
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Jiang served as principal investigator, working with colleagues from USF's Genomics, Global Health Infectious Disease Research Center and departments including anthropology, molecular medicine and history.
From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026
One contractor, a federal investigator, told the Journal that Mercor asks for “real-world scenarios” but doesn’t ask for prior work or proprietary data that might belong to other companies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
“Keith’s wife, Leila, wants to know what’s going on with the subpoena,” the trooper told the investigator.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
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.
