inspector

noun

in·​spec·​tor in-ˈspek-tər 

1

: a person employed to inspect something

2

a

: a police officer who is in charge of usually several precincts and ranks below a superintendent or deputy superintendent

b

: a person appointed to oversee a polling place

inspectorship

in-ˈspek-tər-ˌship 

noun

Examples of inspector in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The health inspectors found various hazards including contaminated food, unsafe temperatures, cross-contamination, lack of hand washing, broken equipment, and operating without proper oversight. —Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 May 2025

Doing so also entails providing Fannie and lenders with contractor invoices, before/after photos, engineer reports and a letter from a qualified inspector confirming completion. —Eduardo J. Valdes, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025

The Postal Inspection Service, one of the country’s oldest law enforcement agencies, has nearly 1,300 postal inspectors and 500 uniformed Postal Police officers, according to the latest Postal Service figures. —Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 30 Apr. 2025

And the school devised a plan to keep you safe from the inspector. —Marc Silver, NPR, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing inspector

• inspector general

Rhymes for inspector

• bisector
• collector
• connector
• corrector
• defector
• deflector
• detector
• director
• dissector
• effector
• ejector
• elector

Kids Definition

inspector

noun

in·​spec·​tor in-ˈspek-tər 

1

: a person who makes inspections

meat inspector

2

: a police officer ranking just below a superintendent or deputy superintendent

inspectorship

-ˌship 

noun

Legal Definition

inspector

noun

in·​spec·​tor

1

: a person employed or authorized to inspect something

2

: a police officer in charge of a number of precincts and ranking below a superintendent or deputy superintendent