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
That’s after Emily went to jail at the end of A Simple Favor, and Stephanie, moonlighting as a private detective, helped put her there.
—
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2025
Comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw joins the company as King Julian’s private detective.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
Loser of the Week Michael McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant turned private detective, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in harassing and stalking a Chinese expatriate named Xu Jin, who is wanted by his homeland’s government.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
At the end of A Simple Favor, Emily (Lively) goes to prison and Stephanie (Kendrick) moonlights as a private detective, which makes her mommy vlog more interesting and extremely popular.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for private detective
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2025
Comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw joins the company as King Julian’s private detective.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
Loser of the Week Michael McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant turned private detective, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in harassing and stalking a Chinese expatriate named Xu Jin, who is wanted by his homeland’s government.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
At the end of A Simple Favor, Emily (Lively) goes to prison and Stephanie (Kendrick) moonlights as a private detective, which makes her mommy vlog more interesting and extremely popular.
—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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While genre fiction steadily advances onto bestseller lists, realism soldiers on, amid cyborgs and dragons and boozy detectives.—
Hamilton Cain,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
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Last week, prosecutors called their final witness, the Chicago police detective who was the lead investigator in the case.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2025
Noun
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Though Watkins had first been ruled out as a suspect in the killing of 20-year-old Isaac Dawkins, who was shot in the head while driving on a highway in Rome in 2000, he was pursued by Floyd County police and investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, according to his complaint.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2025
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Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office investigators are working to determine how the child ended up in the water, according to the statement.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 June 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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The family continues to have a GoFundMe campaign active to cover funeral expenses and fuel their fight for justice with a private investigator.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
28 May 2025
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For three months, David worked with a private investigator and a former F.B.I. behavioral science expert to explore whether Ted could be the Unabomber.—
Serge F. Kovaleski,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Private detective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20detective. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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