inspector

noun

in·​spec·​tor in-ˈspek-tər 

1

: a person employed to inspect something

2

a

: a police officer who is in charge of usually several precincts and ranks below a superintendent or deputy superintendent

b

: a person appointed to oversee a polling place

inspectorship

in-ˈspek-tər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of inspector in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Other big stories ➤ Maricopa County health inspectors recently visited nearly 1,430 restaurants across the Valley, with 450 receiving an A rating. —Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 22 Oct. 2025

From unidentified meat to gnats on clean dishes, health inspectors in Missouri and Kansas found numerous violations at Kansas City area restaurants last week. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 21 Oct. 2025

More than once, Tucker’s armed inspectors fired at a suspect truck that ignored orders to stop, according to newspaper reports from the time. —Robert Wyss, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2025

During the preliminary hearing, Budd — through his attorney — accused a District Attorney inspector of attempting to influence Doe’s testimony through hand signals from the courtroom gallery. —Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing inspector

• inspector general

Rhymes for inspector

• bisector
• collector
• connector
• corrector
• defector
• deflector
• detector
• director
• dissector
• effector
• ejector
• elector

Kids Definition

inspector

noun

in·​spec·​tor in-ˈspek-tər 

1

: a person who makes inspections

meat inspector

2

: a police officer ranking just below a superintendent or deputy superintendent

inspectorship

-ˌship 

noun

Legal Definition

inspector

noun

in·​spec·​tor

1

: a person employed or authorized to inspect something

2

: a police officer in charge of a number of precincts and ranking below a superintendent or deputy superintendent