as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the firm hired a hawkshaw to find out who was fencing stock from their warehouse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hawkshaw
Noun
-
The current inspector general, Felix Jimenez, is a former homicide detective, but supporters of the changes note that much of his office’s work focuses on the nuts-and-bolts of government spending, including contracts and purchases.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
3 Feb. 2026 -
The investigation into Reina began in January 2024, involving interviews about three dozen people and poring over thousands of credit card statements and other expense reports, said Sacramento County sheriff’s detective Monica Bustamante in an interview last week.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The report showed that the crash — like most crashes — wasn’t caused by one issue but instead by a cascading series of problems, former NTSB investigator Anthony Brickhouse told The Charlotte Observer.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Police soon cleared Piercy after his story checked out, and investigators say he could be heard on the 911 call doing CPR and trying to save Katlyn.—
Megan Kelly Brown,
CBS News,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Princess Lilibet and her brother, Prince Archie, 6, are often kept out of the private eye by their parents, but the siblings have recently been featured in a number of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's photos — and some of their philanthropic work.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
17 Jan. 2026
-
On Friday, the network added a comedy, a private eye show from Brooklyn Nine-Nine alumni Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Hawkshaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaw. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
