hawkshaw

noun

ˈhȯk-ˌshȯ How to pronounce hawkshaw (audio)
Definition of hawkshawnext
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
  1. detective
  2. investigator
  3. private eye
Noun
  • While searching the area, two other detectives spotted the Chevy parked at Southwest 64th Court and 88th Street.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Larry Baimbridge spent thirty-one years with the Houston Police Department, including stints as a homicide detective and as commander of the SWAT team.
    — Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of detective
Noun
  • The decades-long search for answers in Amy’s case inspired the couple to help establish the nonprofit, which helps to fund unsolved homicide investigations, train investigators and support victims’ families.
    — Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The footage showed the vehicles entering and exiting the site and allowed investigators to capture their vehicle identification numbers, which were forwarded to CBP, according to Earley.
    — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of investigator
Noun
  • In the first, a best-selling mystery author dies, and Benoit Blanc, a charismatic and inquisitive private eye played by Daniel Craig, must investigate.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The story revolves around private eye Raymond Gunn (Rockwell), who is drawn into a case involving murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova, voiced by Johansson.
    — Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of private eye
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.

Browse Nearby Words

hawks
hawkshaw
hawkshaws
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Hawkshaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaw. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All