private detective

American  

noun

1. a detective who is not a member of an official force but is employed by private parties.

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private detective British  

noun

1. Also called: private investigator.  an individual privately employed to investigate a crime, keep watch on a suspected person, or make other inquiries

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Etymology

Origin of private detective

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

It is the first of five novels starring Neal Carey: “a graduate student who, much like me,” the author wrote, “was too busy making a living as a private detective to finish his degree.”

From The Wall Street Journal

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

Three flavors of investigators combine here: the citizen detective, the private detective and the police detective.

From Los Angeles Times

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

The move was recommended by the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel report, which looked at the force's handling of the unsolved murder of private detective Daniel Morgan.

From BBC

Related Words

• detective
• gumshoe
• private eye
• private investigator
• sleuth