as in detectives
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
unable to get the interest of the police, they hired a private eye to find their missing daughter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private eyes
Noun
-
Within two years, Torres’ political career was crashing down amid a scandal that surfaced publicly in October 2024 when he was detained and questioned by San Jose detectives.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
18 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
Noun
-
Meanwhile, investigators hope DNA from a glove recovered about two miles from Nancy’s residence will lead them closer to a suspect.—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The warrant was based on a lead that investigators received, the department said, but no arrests were made.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The recipients spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on private detectives and expert analysis.—
Ben Taub,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The publisher has argued that evidence from private detectives can't be trusted.—
Ramy Inocencio,
CBS News,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Once upon a time, there was a TV show about three little girls who went to the police academy and then became private investigators.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Her family in 2018 also engaged in a legal battle with OPD in order to access records that their private investigators could use in a search.—
Silas Morgan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
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
“Private eyes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20eyes. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
