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.
Under growing pressure, the government appointed a special investigator to probe whether current and former soldiers should face criminal charges.
From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026
The state investigator also requested the X-ray tests that deputies had used to wrongly determine that the two grenades were inert, according to the complaint.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
"Until recently, while stellar rotation was thought to be part of solving this conundrum, limited computing abilities prevented us from quantitatively testing the hypothesis," says Falk Herwig, principal investigator and director of ARC.
From Science Daily • Mar. 24, 2026
It was close to 11 p.m. when an investigator from Florida’s child protective services finally arrived, the family said.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
A charismatic police officer, investigator, or prosecutor struggles with his own demons while heroically trying to solve a horrible crime.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
