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

• 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

Maislin hired a private investigator to find out who had hit the young firefighter. —Otto Rabe, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Sep. 2025

In September 2025, Cecilie Fjellhøy teamed up with private investigator Brianne Joseph to uncover other romance scams in Netflix's Love Con Revenge. —Kelsie Gibson, People.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Catfish-style, Cecilie works with a private investigator, Brianne Joseph, to help uncover elaborate cons, support victims, and hold serial scammers accountable. —Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Sep. 2025

The new Netflix docuseries brings back Tinder Swindler victim Cecilie Fjellhøy and pairs her up with private investigator Brianne Joseph to get deep with these personal stories. —Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 8 Sep. 2025

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)