private eye

noun

: private investigator

Synonyms of private eye

• detective
• investigator
• private detective
• private investigator

Examples of private eye in a Sentence

unable to get the interest of the police, they hired a private eye to find their missing daughter

Recent Examples on the Web

The Palladino Files – When legendary private eye Jack Palladino is murdered, one of his old targets, Ronan Farrow,takes up the case. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Apr. 2026

Krysten Ritter plays Jessica Jones, a former superhero battling PTSD and working as a private eye. — David Faris, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026

Somewhere in the middle of this Los Angeles neo-noir, Colin Farrell’s quiet, well-dressed, cinema-loving private eye was revealed to be a blue-skinned alien — then the show just kept going, missing-persons mystery intact. — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 19 June 2026

In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova. — Rick Ellis, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for private eye

• acidify
• alveoli
• antinomy
• areolae
• demystify
• detoxify
• disqualify
• diversify
• electrify
• exemplify
• fasciculi
• identify

Legal Definition

private eye

noun

: private investigator