private investigator

noun

: a person not a member of a police force who is licensed to do detective work (such as investigation of suspected wrongdoing or searching for missing persons)

Synonyms of private investigator

• detective
• investigator
• private detective
• private eye

Examples of private investigator in a Sentence

She hired a private investigator to follow her husband.

the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator

Recent Examples on the Web

Reddington tried unsuccessfully to get in contact with Thorndike after seeing the video, and eventually sent his private investigator to her house to speak to her. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

Cage plays private investigator Ben Riley, a man who has long abandoned his alter ego. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

The series, which ran from 1980 to 1988, starred Selleck as a private investigator living in Oahu, Hawaii. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026

In an interview with a neighbor, the private investigators learned that there was a cargo van outside the house at the time. — Jeremy Greenberg, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for private investigator

• accelerator
• accumulator
• adjudicator
• administrator
• appropriator
• articulator
• attenuator
• bronchodilator
• collaborator
• communicator
• conciliator
• cooperator

Kids Definition

private investigator

noun

: a person who does detective work and is not a member of a police force

Legal Definition

private investigator

noun

: a person not a member of a police force who is licensed to do detective work (as investigation of suspected wrongdoing or searching for missing persons)