as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the firm hired a hawkshaw to find out who was fencing stock from their warehouse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hawkshaw
Noun
-
The original Heat starred Pacino as Vincent Hanna, the LAPD detective investigating bank robber Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro).—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Oct. 2025 -
The next detective retired a few years later while under investigation for discrimination, harrassment and falsifying information during a homicide investigation.—
Keith Sharon,
Nashville Tennessean,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His claims were verified when investigators checked out the grave sites.—
JR Radcliffe,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
The driver of the Nissan stayed at the scene of the crash and cooperated with investigators, police said.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
He’s backed up by a superb supporting cast as well, including the honey-voiced Keith David as private eye Marty, the Buffy reboot’s new slayer Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Lee’s daughter Francis and the always-great Kyle MacLachlan as slick gubernatorial candidate Donald Washberg.—
Dave Nemetz,
TVLine,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The film written by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke stars Margaret Qualley as a small-town private eye working a case of strange deaths at a mysterious church.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
24 Aug. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Hawkshaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaw. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share