📓 High School LevelThis shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
📓 High School LevelThis shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
QUIZ
GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!
Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.
Question 1 of 9
Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?
Origin of private eye 1935–40; eye, allusive phonetic rendering of I, abbreviation of investigator
Words nearby private eye private equity ,
private-equity company ,
private equity fund ,
privateer ,
privateersman ,
private eye ,
Private Finance Initiative ,
private first class ,
private health insurance ,
private hotel ,
private income
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
Words related to private eye private detective ,
private investigator ,
sleuth ,
detective ,
gumshoe ,
investigator ,
agent ,
beagle ,
bird dog ,
bloodhound ,
dick ,
skip tracer ,
sleuthhound ,
snoop ,
spotter
How to use private eye in a sentence The standard assignments, and the ones that truly built Kroll’s fortune, are undertaken for law firms and corporations, which regularly hire private eye s to gather evidence in legal disputes, run background checks or scope out takeover targets.
The idea of forcing private eye s to disclose their clients and tactics to a federal regulator have come up in some recent books and opinion pieces.
In a sense, they are the private eye s of the state’s public data, as they investigate the backstories of new coronavirus cases displayed each day on the Illinois Department of Public Health’s dashboard.
ROME — What does it take for a Hollywood A-lister to get a private audience with Pope Francis?
The family was taking some private moments for a closing of the coffin in keeping with Chinese ritual.
But while his public profile receded, his private life blossomed.
My nickname was Captain, though I was a private, first class.
The role of private investigators has stirred controversy in the investigation.
But Lucy had noted, out of the corner of her watchful eye, the arrival of Miss Grains, indignant and perspiring.
Dean Swift was indeed a misanthrope by theory, however he may have made exception to private life.
As his eye became accustomed to the gloom, David Arden saw traces of gilding on the walls.
As small letters weary the eye most, so also the smallest affairs disturb us most.
Ripperda's eye fell upon the mantle,—it was discoloured a dark red in many places, he nodded his head, and the man withdrew.
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British Dictionary definitions for private eye
noun
informal a private detective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with private eye
A privately employed detective, as opposed to one working for the police or another authority. For example, The children loved stories about private eyes, and Janey wanted to become one . This expression comes from the term private investigator , the “i” of investigator being changed to “eye,” which plays on the idea of a person looking into things. [1930s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.