informant
noun
in·for·mant
in-ˈfȯr-mənt 
: a person who gives information: such as
a
: informer
b
: one who supplies cultural or linguistic data in response to interrogation by an investigator
Examples of informant in a Sentence
The police were alerted to the plot by a paid informant.
We learned the language with the help of a native informant.
Recent Examples on the Web
According to his plea agreement with prosecutors, Doyle sold a Glock pistol to an undercover informant on May 20, 2025 — part of a series of transactions on Chicago’s South Side that led to his arrest on July 7, 2025, a few days after the shooting at his daughter’s party.
—
Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026
Former Gambino mobster and government informant John Alite poses on a Queens street in 2013.
—Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 20 June 2026
Rogness is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact and one count of tampering with a witness, victim or informant.
—Angela George, USA Today, 19 June 2026
More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.
—James Pollard, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for informant
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Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026
Former Gambino mobster and government informant John Alite poses on a Queens street in 2013.
—Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 20 June 2026
Rogness is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact and one count of tampering with a witness, victim or informant.
—Angela George, USA Today, 19 June 2026
More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.
—James Pollard, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for informant
Cite this Entry
“Informant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/informant. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
informant
noun
in·for·mant
in-ˈfȯr-mənt
: informer
Legal Definition
informant
noun
in·for·mant
in-ˈfȯr-mənt
: one who informs against another
specifically
: one who makes a practice especially for money of informing police of others' criminal activities
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