Synonyms of private investigator

private investigator

noun

as in detective

a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons

the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator

Synonyms & Similar Words

• detective
• investigator
• private detective
• private eye
• operative
• dick
• sleuth
• sleuthhound
• hawkshaw
• gumshoe
• shamus
• sherlock
• tracer
• tracker
• tail
• Federal
• fed
• shadow
• narc
• plainclothesman
• G-man

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of private investigator

Henry’s family are concerned enough to have sent in their own smarmy private investigator, Rapp (Noah Reid), though not quite concerned enough to cut short their own business trip to Japan. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 20 Oct. 2026

The mother who police say killed her husband and their 3-year-old son at Great Wolf Lodge could face the death penalty, according to a private investigator. — Kelsie Cairns, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Goor and Del Tredici are gearing up to debut their next NBC sitcom, a single-camera workplace comedy starring Jake Johnson as a cynical detective working at a past-its-prime private investigator agency in Hollywood. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026

Then a character actor who plays a private investigator blew us all out of the water on the first take, just completely out-acting us all! — Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026