Synonyms of private detective

private detective

noun

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Examples of private detective in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Levinson’s first crack at an idea for the new season, in which Zendaya was to be a private detective, was rejected by both HBO and Zendaya. —Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 July 2024

The 1974 film, which stars Jack Nicholson as private detective Jake Gittes, won Towne an Oscar and is still widely considered one of the best screenplays and best films about Los Angeles ever made. —Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 3 July 2024

Jeffreys-Jones tells chilling stories of U.S. and British companies hiring private detectives to spy on workers and keep tabs on labor organizers. —Jennifer Daskal, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2017

But from Hercule Poirot to Benoit Blanc, the most iconic private detectives transcend individual stories, taking their talents across locales. —Alison Herman, Variety, 24 June 2024