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

Several city and county public health officials had to move quickly to lay off nurses, epidemiologists and disease inspectors. —Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2025

In July 2024, the FDA had 432 inspectors, but nearly one-quarter were eligible to retire. —Alana Semuels, Time, 8 Apr. 2025

In late 2024, a city inspector issued two city code violations that threatened to displace the Longfellow operation. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 20 Mar. 2025

The callback inspection kept Sang’s closed after the inspector counted one dead roach, two rodent droppings under the dishwasher, three rodent droppings on a soy sauce container and over 10 droppings on the floor in the single service goods storage room. —David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 20 Mar. 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