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Synonyms
Examples of private detective in a Sentence
when the police insisted that it was an accident and not murder, she hired a private detective
Recent Examples on the Web
Donald Sutherland plays John Klute, a private detective hired to solve the disappearance of an executive.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 31 May 2024
The genre-bending noir saw Colin Farrell’s mysterious private detective John Sugar attempt to track down Olivia (Sydney Chandler), the granddaughter of Hollywood mogul Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell).
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 17 May 2024
Caught in the middle is private detective Aline Ruby and her partner Carlos, who looks and acts human but is a robot.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
This resulted in some very strange ideas like Sam Levinson saying that Rue would be more of a background character working as a Veronica Mars-esque private detective.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for private detective
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'private detective.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1861, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of private detective was
in 1861
Dictionary Entries Near private detective
Cite this Entry
“Private detective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/private%20detective. Accessed 17 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
private detective
nounLegal Definition
private detective
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