private investigator
Americannoun
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.
"When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a private investigator," she said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
His friends hired a private investigator and hung fliers begging him to come back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
The paper said that many had, including a private investigator hacking into a phone belonging to the murdered teenager Milly Dowler, for a News of the World story.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
“When I applied to become a private investigator, I had assumed that there would be a little bit more back-and-forth,” she told me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
“I even hired some local private investigator to find her, but no luck.”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
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.
