private investigator

noun

: a person not a member of a police force who is licensed to do detective work (such as investigation of suspected wrongdoing or searching for missing persons)

Synonyms of private investigator

• detective
• investigator
• private detective
• private eye

Examples of private investigator in a Sentence

She hired a private investigator to follow her husband.

the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator

Recent Examples on the Web

At the time this story was published, an attempt to reach the private investigator did not receive a response. —Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 26 Mar. 2026

At one point, a private investigator (not a cop) explains why the killer has to be a certain height, and then the show keeps hinting at suspects who don’t fit the description. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026

This is not the only pilot about a private investigator presently in the works at NBC. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026

Windley and his family did their own investigations after his conviction to pin down the identity of the two robbers and pressure them to do the right thing and confess, hiring a private investigator to help them. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 16 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1940, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for private investigator

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

Kids Definition

private investigator

noun

: a person who does detective work and is not a member of a police force

Legal Definition

private investigator

noun

: a person not a member of a police force who is licensed to do detective work (as investigation of suspected wrongdoing or searching for missing persons)