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

State workplace safety inspectors have up to six months to complete the probe. —Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 9 Mar. 2026

Officials say the uranium has not been verified by international inspectors for almost nine months. —Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 9 Mar. 2026

Henshall is a hoot as the tortured inspector, though the series has recently taken on a new dimension with the addition of Ashley Jensen (so brilliant in Ricky Gervais’ Hollywood satire, Extras) as the formidable DI Ruth Calder. —Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Mar. 2026

The detention center operators would be required to correct any deficiencies identified by inspectors or face a civil penalty up to $25,000 a day for each violation. —Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026

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