private investigator
Americannoun
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.
Prince Harry's legal team says private investigator Gavin Burrows signed a statement in 2021 confirming he carried out some of the most serious wrong-doing alleged against the Mail newspapers.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Wright also strongly denied allegations he met private investigator Jonathan Rees and corrupt police officers in Thornton Heath pubs to pay them for information for stories.
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
Wright later called an allegation of paying a private investigator to "blag" information from Lady Lawrence "absolute nonsense".
From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026
In 1986, Don Winslow was a 33-year-old New York-born, world-traveling private investigator who, during stakeouts, read crime fiction by authors such as Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy and Joseph Wambaugh.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
He hired a private investigator to dig into their personal lives.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
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.
