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
These private eyes spy on children in order to determine who is or isn’t living within the district’s strict attendance boundaries.
—
Tim Deroche, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2025
In that time, Will has started over as a private eye in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 7 Jan. 2025
When a judge tentatively allowed the music to bang on this fall, sonic private eyes and city officials patrolled the neighborhood with microphones and decibel meters, gathering ammunition for the battle.
—Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
Most recently, the actor worked opposite Colin Farrell in Apple TV+’s twisty private eye series Sugar (2024–present).
—Madeline Cisneros, EW.com, 22 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for private eye
Tim Deroche, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2025
In that time, Will has started over as a private eye in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 7 Jan. 2025
When a judge tentatively allowed the music to bang on this fall, sonic private eyes and city officials patrolled the neighborhood with microphones and decibel meters, gathering ammunition for the battle.
—Katie Thornton, Rolling Stone, 20 Dec. 2024
Most recently, the actor worked opposite Colin Farrell in Apple TV+’s twisty private eye series Sugar (2024–present).
—Madeline Cisneros, EW.com, 22 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for private eye
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private eye
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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Its harm is felt when a reporter accosts a convalescing patient in the hospital, when a private detective peers through a neighbor's bedroom window for weeks, and when a photographer snaps an opportunistic photo of a woman's underwear.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 Apr. 2025
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So far, Florence has not come forward with any further information other than a 2008 statement sent by his attorney, Neil Rosenberg, to private detective Don Corbett.—
Alex Gurley,
People.com,
1 Apr. 2025
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 eye.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20eye. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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