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
  • Maybe archaeologists and detectives are not so different.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call state police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office at 508-832-9124 or Gardner police at 978-632-5600.
    Michael Ruiz , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Less than 24 hours later, investigators say Lauren Spors beat her mother to death with a rock.
    David Clarey, jsonline.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in an October 26 statement that investigators made the arrests the previous evening.
    News Desk, Artforum, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Thomas Pynchon's first novel in 12 years, Shadow Ticket, is a mystery that dives into the disappearance of a cheese heiress and draws private eye Hicks McTaggart down a rabbit hole.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
  • One Battle, like his other recent movies, is based on a book by Thomas Pynchon, the James Joyce of private eye novelists.
    Peter Bart, Deadline, 9 Oct. 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.

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Hawkshaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaw. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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