private investigator

American  

noun

1. private detective. PI, p.i., P.I.

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Etymology

Origin of private investigator

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Former Daily Mail investigative reporter Stephen Wright has bitterly criticised claims he paid private investigators for information about the Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry.

From BBC

In August 2011, Hartley led an internal investigation looking at records of payments to private investigators ahead of the Leveson Inquiry that year.

From BBC

In court on Wednesday he accepted there may be evidence private investigators working on behalf of the paper may have used unlawful techniques.

From BBC

There, he answered questions about the paper's use of private investigators to obtain information.

From BBC

ANL has countered that evidence will prove it sourced its stories legitimately and that claims around the use of private investigators were "clutching at straws in the wind".

From Barron's

Related Words

• P.I.
• inquiry agent
• private detective
• private dick
• private eye
• private investigator
• sleuth