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
• dick
• gumshoe
• hawkshaw
• investigator
• operative
• private detective
• private eye
• shamus [slang]
• sherlock
• sleuth
• sleuthhound

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

Reports of the city hiring a private investigator to look into Wu’s performance were first circulated by local residents in April, although the city declined to confirm nor comment about the matter when asked by this news organization. —Stephanie Lam, Mercury News, 9 June 2025

Before becoming a writer, Loyd had worked in law enforcement and as a private investigator, experiences that appear to inform the realistic feel of his mystery writing. —Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 4 June 2025

Jimenez established a GoFundMe to raise funds so that the family can hire a private investigator to look into the case. —David Chiu, People.com, 22 May 2025

After a brief but failed stint as a superhero, Jones began working as a private investigator in New York. —Joe Otterson, Variety, 13 May 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)