Pinkerton

American

[ping-ker-tuhn] / ˈpɪŋ kər tən /

noun

Allan, 1819–84, U.S. detective, born in Scotland.

Pinkerton British

/ ˈpɪŋkətən /

noun

Allan. 1819–84, US private detective, born in Scotland. He founded the first detective agency in the US (1850) and organized an intelligence system for the Federal States of America (1861)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Tucking into the shady doorway next to Pinkerton’s, I perched myself on an empty wooden crate to have a read.

From Literature

“Are you a secretary for that Pinkerton? Or a bookkeeper?”

From Literature

“I do not file his papers or keep his books. Nor do I take down Mr. Pinkerton’s dictations.”

From Literature

“Mrs. Wigginbottom said you help with the laundry and the sewing at the boardinghouse. Are you Mr. Pinkerton’s washerwoman?”

From Literature

“I am not a washerwoman, Nell. I am not a secretary or a bookkeeper. For your information, I am a detective. In fact, I am the first woman Mr. Pinkerton has ever employed as such.”

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023