private detective
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of private detective
First recorded in 1865–70
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.
It is the first of five novels starring Neal Carey: “a graduate student who, much like me,” the author wrote, “was too busy making a living as a private detective to finish his degree.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Marten's family also hired a private detective to find her.
From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025
A private detective finally found Madrigal living in Las Vegas with her oldest son, Oren, who didn’t learn about his mother’s tragic, historic past until answering the researcher’s call.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2024
When Kirby accepted the role of Ruby — a Bondish M-meets-Q foil to a Los Angeles private detective played by Colin Farrell — in the Apple TV+ series “Sugar,” she found herself among kindred spirits.
From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2024
Anna’s guardian, the Reverend Dr. Black, had hired a private detective who had come to Holmes’s building.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
