as in detective
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of private eye
On one level, Resuscitation of a Hanged Man is a private eye novel.
—
Dwyer Murphy
june 24, Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
The dark comedy reaches its Season 1 conclusion Friday on NBC and it’s poised to bring a new set of twists and cliffhangers as the group tries to evade law enforcement and a private eye plotting blackmail.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025
The track ended the contract after only a few months of effort by the private eyes.
—Katie Bo Lillis, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for private eye
Dwyer Murphy
june 24, Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
The dark comedy reaches its Season 1 conclusion Friday on NBC and it’s poised to bring a new set of twists and cliffhangers as the group tries to evade law enforcement and a private eye plotting blackmail.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025
The track ended the contract after only a few months of effort by the private eyes.
—Katie Bo Lillis, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for private eye
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private eye
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 original series also spawned a spinoff, Baywatch Nights, in which Hasselhoff’s character, Mitch Buchanon, joins his friend Garner Ellerbee (Gregory Alan Williams) in a private detective agency.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Sep. 2025
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In the second movie in Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke’s lesbian B-movie trilogy (the first was the fizzy Drive Away Dolls), Margaret Qualley plays Honey, a stylish private detective trying to solve a case that involves a cult.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
22 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 eye.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20eye. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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