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.
To the side stood private investigator Carmelo Castañeda.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026
The live-action series is based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, telling the story of Ben Reilly - a hardened private investigator in 1930s New York, played by Nicolas Cage.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
The ultraviolent 1991 film was directed by her former husband Renny Harlin and co-starred Samuel L. Jackson as a lowly private investigator.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
A private investigator who was initially a key witness in a privacy case brought by several claimants against the publisher of the Daily Mail, including Prince Harry, has denied "switching sides" out of revenge.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
The general put him in touch with a private investigator named Peter Kalitka, who’d done contract work for both the DIA and the CIA.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
