as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
when the police insisted that it was an accident and not murder, she hired a private detective
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of private detective
But after her best friend’s death, getting dumped, and her father’s fall from grace as the local sheriff, Veronica is a high school outsider by day and a private detective by night.
—
James Mercadante, EW.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Following her performances as southern womanizer Jamie in Drive-Away Dolls and fearless private detective Honey O’Donahue in Honey Don’t!
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
The driver of the vehicle, Ball, began firing shots — injuring both Anne’s chauffeur, Alex Callender, and private detective, James Beaton — before climbing in the front seat and ordering the princess to get out before he was stopped by a passerby.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 2 Aug. 2025
The death of a guest jolts the wedding party and reawakens Stephanie’s dormant private detective career.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for private detective
James Mercadante, EW.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Following her performances as southern womanizer Jamie in Drive-Away Dolls and fearless private detective Honey O’Donahue in Honey Don’t!
—Glenn Garner, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2025
The driver of the vehicle, Ball, began firing shots — injuring both Anne’s chauffeur, Alex Callender, and private detective, James Beaton — before climbing in the front seat and ordering the princess to get out before he was stopped by a passerby.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 2 Aug. 2025
The death of a guest jolts the wedding party and reawakens Stephanie’s dormant private detective career.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for private detective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private detective
Noun
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Two days later, the case was assigned to a detective in the domestic violence unit, who identified Anderson as matching the description.—
Monroe Trombly,
Louisville Courier Journal,
23 Sep. 2025
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The woman later described to detectives seeing blood in the hall near the kitchen entryway.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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One of its investigators had spent weeks undercover working and traveling with ShowMe Tigers, watching the animals being forced to perform tricks, said Humane World for Animals, formerly called the Humane Society of the United States, in a statement Sunday.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
22 Sep. 2025
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One woman told investigators her family paid Gonzales nearly $34,500 to help her parents obtain legal residence, disciplinary records show.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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Short version: In this movie co-written and directed by Ethan Coen, Margaret Qualley plays a swaggering, small-town private eye whose investigations into a series of strange deaths lead her to a mysterious church run by a charismatic (and corrupt) preacher played by Chris Evans.—
Chris Foran,
jsonline.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Harjo, with his eye for human eccentricities, lends a pulse to stock types—chief among them a poetry-loving private investigator named Marty (Keith David).—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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Many now have cameras, hire private investigators and offer cash rewards to try to catch the thieves.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Private detective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20detective. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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