special agent
Americannoun
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an investigator in a law enforcement agency.
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an insurance sales representative.
Etymology
Origin of special agent
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
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.
“I know a con man when I see one,” says Mr. Rogers, who was a special agent with the FBI from 1989 through 1994.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
IRS special agent Chris Seymour gave Thompson the first interview of his career, and what he and prosecutors say about Mizuhara’s motive goes beyond the narrative that he had a gambling addiction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
“They didn’t discriminate on who they hated,” Mark Remer, the FBI special agent in charge, told reporters last week.
From Slate ● May 26, 2026
Former FBI special agent Jeff Kroeger told the BBC: "This is exactly what the Secret Service is trained do to."
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
One day in the summer of 1925, Tom White, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Investigation’s field office in Houston, received an urgent order from headquarters in Washington, D.C.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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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.