as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of private investigator
Health projects that Naqvi had promised had come to nothing, and the Gates Foundation and other investors hired private investigators to trace the whereabouts of their money.
—
Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
The obsessive Snider hired a private investigator to follow Stratten.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
The private investigator did not keep Kennedy anonymous.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Charlie's Angels centered on three private investigators who, under orders from their enigmatic but never visible boss, Charlie Townsend, solved cases together using their wits and style.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for private investigator
Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
The obsessive Snider hired a private investigator to follow Stratten.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026
The private investigator did not keep Kennedy anonymous.
—Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 2026
Charlie's Angels centered on three private investigators who, under orders from their enigmatic but never visible boss, Charlie Townsend, solved cases together using their wits and style.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for private investigator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private investigator
Noun
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That evening, a detective assigned to a robbery intervention detail tried to stop a black Mercedes-Benz at Northwest 17th Avenue and 71st Street, according to a MDSO video.—
Sofia Saric,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
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His gift is an uncanny ability to solve crimes that leave the LAPD baffled, armed only with the savvy and dry humor reminiscent of the gumshoe detectives of the noir genre.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Forensic investigators will determine whether the shooting was accidental, police said.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Kemp said investigators suspect the Brantley County fire was sparked by an aluminum party balloon that touched live power lines, creating an electrical arc that sparked flames on the ground.—
Emilie Megnien,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In Charlie's Angels, Liu, Barrymore, 51, and Diaz, 53, star as three women working in a private detective agency.—
Staff Author,
PEOPLE,
26 Apr. 2026
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The movie was made even stranger by then-Hollywood heavyweights like Jackie Chan, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robert Evans playing heightened versions of themselves — not to mention an unsettling performance by Harvey Weinstein as a private detective that has, to put it mildly, not aged well.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Because this is a Jean-Luc Godard film, only Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine), a rumpled American private eye who seems to have stepped straight out of one of the classic Hollywood noirs Godard loved.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
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The Palladino Files – When legendary private eye Jack Palladino is murdered, one of his old targets, Ronan Farrow,takes up the case.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Private investigator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20investigator. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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