private investigator
Americannoun
-
private investigators
plural
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.
Following the burglary, Paul has joined forces with Compare the Market, which commissioned a licensed private investigator to examine the publicly available digital footprints of nine volunteers.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
George Pelecanos’s most recent novel starring Derek Strange, a black cop turned private investigator in Washington, D.C., came out in 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"When I was growing up, I dreamed about becoming a private investigator," she said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
One of those paid, the private investigator Gavin Burrows, seemed to have entered two statements.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Fenton Hardy, Frank and Joe’s dad, was a private investigator who used to work with the local Bayport police force.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
