as in investigators
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the code used by the serial killer in his letters to the police was actually cracked by an amateur detective
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Recent Examples of detectives
Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide detectives are investigating the crash, said Detective Samantha Choon, an agency spokeswoman.
—
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
Jones told detectives his phone was turned off after football practice.
—Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Legal experts say these coercive techniques were common among detectives in the 1980s and 1990s, but often produced false confessions.
—Austin Sanders, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
Evidence technicians also processed the scene, and detectives continued to pursue investigative leads, police said.
—Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2026
The detectives and police public relations people have to spend so much time to correct it.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Rivera said that detectives told her Xion was found on top of two of his little siblings after the shooting.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2025
Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the death of a 1-year-old girl who was found unresponsive in a licensed daycare center in Rancho San Diego on Tuesday.
—Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2025
Upon identifying the user, the detectives initiated a full investigation and uncovered multiple listings from the same seller.
—Christina Shaw, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 25 Feb. 2026
Jones told detectives his phone was turned off after football practice.
—Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 25 Feb. 2026
Legal experts say these coercive techniques were common among detectives in the 1980s and 1990s, but often produced false confessions.
—Austin Sanders, Austin American Statesman, 18 Feb. 2026
Evidence technicians also processed the scene, and detectives continued to pursue investigative leads, police said.
—Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 18 Feb. 2026
The detectives and police public relations people have to spend so much time to correct it.
—Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2026
Rivera said that detectives told her Xion was found on top of two of his little siblings after the shooting.
—Angie Dimichele, Sun Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2025
Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the death of a 1-year-old girl who was found unresponsive in a licensed daycare center in Rancho San Diego on Tuesday.
—Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2025
Upon identifying the user, the detectives initiated a full investigation and uncovered multiple listings from the same seller.
—Christina Shaw, FOXNews.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detectives
Noun
-
The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, the Associated Press reported, citing a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation.—
Richard Hall,
Time,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Initially, the search operation centred on the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca; but investigators later established (using satellite data, and a process of elimination) that MH370 turned sharply again and flew on for hours, to the southern Indian Ocean.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Mexican special forces operatives and the National Guard’s Special Immediate Reaction Force then swooped into action, putting together a plan and launching a raid within the next 24 hours.—
Gonzalo Zegarra,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
-
One of those operatives was none other than Mencho’s brother.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Detectives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detectives. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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