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.
His latest role is as a former cop turned private detective in Peacock’s new crime thriller, “M.I.A.,” streaming now.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Claude, meanwhile, having left the police to become a private detective, is obsessed with solving a string of related wartime murders, including that of Huguette’s father.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
A private detective, Auguste Bell, arrives to solve the crime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
She said a private detective hired by the family found no criminal records for a person named Paramjit Singh in the state, suggesting authorities may have mistaken him for someone else.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2025
“Mr. Comstock had received some information,” a private detective wrote, noting that Comstock had reported that on May 14 an unidentified man had been seen lurking on the hill where Whitehorn’s body was subsequently found.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
