as in investigator
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the code used by the serial killer in his letters to the police was actually cracked by an amateur detective
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Recent Examples of detective
Darrell Price, another former detective who helped track down Wallace disputes the notion that race was a factor, as do other CMPD officials.
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Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 17 Jan. 2025
San Diego homicide detectives arrested a 19-year-old Linda Vista man on suspicion of killing his girlfriend early Friday inside a Mission Valley motel, police said.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025
Lynch’s career-realigning Blue Velvet, which introduced MacLachlan to audiences as amateur detective and voyeur Jeffrey Beaumont, starts with the hero’s father collapsing of a stroke while watering his lawn, the kink in the hose visualizing what happened in the man’s circulatory system.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
Homicide detectives are investigating deaths at several locations, said Nicole Nishida, communications director for the Sheriff’s Department.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for detective 
Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 17 Jan. 2025
San Diego homicide detectives arrested a 19-year-old Linda Vista man on suspicion of killing his girlfriend early Friday inside a Mission Valley motel, police said.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025
Lynch’s career-realigning Blue Velvet, which introduced MacLachlan to audiences as amateur detective and voyeur Jeffrey Beaumont, starts with the hero’s father collapsing of a stroke while watering his lawn, the kink in the hose visualizing what happened in the man’s circulatory system.
—Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
Homicide detectives are investigating deaths at several locations, said Nicole Nishida, communications director for the Sheriff’s Department.
—Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for detective
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Cite this Entry
“Detective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detective. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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