person of interest

noun phrase

: a person who is believed to be possibly involved in a crime but has not been charged or arrested

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Police have not named him or anybody else as a suspect or person of interest. —

Tristan Balagtas, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2023 The Pentagon and Justice Department launched investigations into the leak after the documents were discovered online and Teixeira is considered by intelligence and law enforcement officials to be a person of interest. —

Peter Martin, Fortune, 13 Apr. 2023 Detectives are actively investigating the homicide and have developed a person of interest. —

Josie Howell | Jhowell@al.com, al, 9 Apr. 2023 There are currently no suspects or persons of interest in the case, authorities said. —

Will Mcduffie, ABC News, 7 Apr. 2023 Police have yet to identify any suspects or persons of interest. —

Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2023 Detectives are interviewing a person of interest, police said. —

Zaeem Shaikh, Dallas News, 6 Apr. 2023 FitsNews exclusively reported last week that SLED has zeroed in on Patrick Wilson and Shawn Connelly as persons of interest in the homicide. —

Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2023 Investigators have identified several persons of interest, CBS affiliate WGFL-TV reported. —

Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'person of interest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of person of interest was in 1937

See more words from the same year

Dictionary Entries Near person of interest

person of inherence

person of interest

person-to-person

See More Nearby Entries

Cite this Entry

Style

“Person of interest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/person%20of%20interest. Accessed 9 Jun. 2023.

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