investigator
noun
in·ves·ti·ga·tor
in-ˈve-stə-ˌgā-tər 
plural investigators
: one who investigates something: such as
a
: detective
a private investigator
Debra Winger plays the investigator who becomes fixated on identifying a killer …—
Margaret Rauch
Margaret Rauch
b
: a person who conducts experiments or is involved in scientific studies for research
the lead investigator in a clinical trial
For dialect recording, it is best for the investigator to take down as full and accurate notes as possible without slowing down the pace of the interview.—Ravin I. McDavid, Jr.
Ravin I. McDavid, Jr.Examples of investigator in a Sentence
investigators who discovered new evidence that the universe was much older than had been previously estimated
the investigator in charge of the case was touted as an expert at tracing stolen art
Recent Examples on the Web
Monson eventually turned himself in on the advice of his father after investigators showed up at his sister’s house, officials said.
—Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Alex Tanford, the leader of an IU faculty advocacy group, told the HT that Wang told him the university was investigating an anonymous complaint that alleged he was mislabeled as the principal investigator for a grant and failed to disclose co-authors in research.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 7 Oct. 2025
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ed later told investigators that his father had abused both him and his older sibling.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
Indeed, the close of CSI's pilot episode saw West's Holly Gribbs, a new hire to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's team of crime scene investigators, shot at the scene of a grisly crime, with little hope of survival.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for investigator
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Alex Tanford, the leader of an IU faculty advocacy group, told the HT that Wang told him the university was investigating an anonymous complaint that alleged he was mislabeled as the principal investigator for a grant and failed to disclose co-authors in research.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 7 Oct. 2025
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ed later told investigators that his father had abused both him and his older sibling.
—Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
Indeed, the close of CSI's pilot episode saw West's Holly Gribbs, a new hire to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's team of crime scene investigators, shot at the scene of a grisly crime, with little hope of survival.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for investigator
Cite this Entry
“Investigator.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/investigator. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share