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

Jordan was then interviewed by a private investigator hired by Jackson’s attorneys, and denied being molested by the singer. —Amelia McDonell-Parry, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026

Health projects that Naqvi had promised had come to nothing, and the Gates Foundation and other investors hired private investigators to trace the whereabouts of their money. —Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026

The obsessive Snider hired a private investigator to follow Stratten. —Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 20 Apr. 2026

The private investigator did not keep Kennedy anonymous. —Patrick Radden Keefe, New Yorker, 13 Apr. 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)