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tec

American  
[tek] / tɛk /

noun

Slang.

  1. detective.

TEC 1 British  
/ tɛk /

acronym

  1. Training and Enterprise Council See Training Agency

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
tec 2 British  
/ tɛk /

noun

  1. informal short for detective

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tec

First recorded in 1875–80; by shortening

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.

Though we still have a long way to go, our dedication to doing right by the world also gives me hope for the future of inclusivity in all of tec.

From Time

Some of them are in the country legally but still ineligible for support under the Patient Pro­tec­tion and Afford­able Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare.

From Reuters

Starsky & Hutch's tongues are just one part of Jack Cloth's success as a telly tec.

From The Guardian

He couldn’t eat a bite or tak a pint o’ their light beer that a ’tec wasn’t sittin’ at t’ next table.

From Project Gutenberg

No English 'tec can touch 'em for cuteness.

From Project Gutenberg

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.