private investigator
Americannoun
-
private investigators
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of private investigator
First recorded in 1935–40
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.
Join local social-media groups, call board officers directly, or use personal connections to get information before making an offer, said Dave Amis, a private investigator in Austin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
George Pelecanos’s most recent novel starring Derek Strange, a black cop turned private investigator in Washington, D.C., came out in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a private investigator," she said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
Department of State for using a private investigator license to make artwork and that the images on screen are taken from her case file.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The general put him in touch with a private investigator named Peter Kalitka, who’d done contract work for both the DIA and the CIA.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
