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

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.

Synonyms of investigator

• researcher

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

Chrinos told investigators that the truck belonged to his boss, who had lent it to him, the affidavit said. — Kyla Guilfoil, NBC news, 7 Nov. 2026

Getty Images Police said the intersection would remain closed for an extended period while investigators worked to determine the cause of the crash. — Giles Hudson, CBS News, 7 Nov. 2026

Aguilar also testified that investigators searched federal and state computerized fingerprint databases without finding a match. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2026

San Diego County Crime Stoppers and San Diego police homicide investigators have said in recent years that the child’s features were consistent with being mostly White, and he was believed to have had light to medium brown hair. — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing investigator

• co-investigator
• private investigator

Rhymes for investigator

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