as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the retired policeman decided to become a private investigator
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Examples of private investigator in a Sentence
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Recent Examples on the Web
The show followed Kristen Bell as the titular Veronica Mars, a high school student who helps her father as a private investigator.
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Colson Thayer, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2024
That may be why private investigator Jackson Brodie has this tendency to try to reassign blame to a guiltier party, in Kate Atkinson’s bestselling series.
—Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2024
Dominick opened up in 2007 to Slate about hiring a private investigator to track down Sweeney, who moved to the Pacific Northwest and changed his name to John Maura.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Since that investigation, a whistleblower has sued the state, a top cannabis official resigned and the state hired a private investigator, Paige reports.
—Hunter Clauss, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for private investigator 
Colson Thayer, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2024
That may be why private investigator Jackson Brodie has this tendency to try to reassign blame to a guiltier party, in Kate Atkinson’s bestselling series.
—Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Sep. 2024
Dominick opened up in 2007 to Slate about hiring a private investigator to track down Sweeney, who moved to the Pacific Northwest and changed his name to John Maura.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2024
Advertisement Since that investigation, a whistleblower has sued the state, a top cannabis official resigned and the state hired a private investigator, Paige reports.
—Hunter Clauss, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for private investigator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private investigator
Noun
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The Prime Video series is shooting now in Queensland, Australia. Created and written by Kate McCartney and Kate McLennan, the series sees two female detectives in harsh and tropical Darwin investigating the death of Bushy, the former policing partner of one of the women.Patrick Frater, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
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Another former detective, Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges for helping to falsify the search warrant used to execute the raid and for trying to cover up what happened afterward.Russell Contreras, Axios, 2 Nov. 2024
Noun
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After authorities discovered the bodies, investigators said Jon Hallford falsely attributed the odor to his taxidermy hobby.Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024
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The recent motion comes after a crime scene investigator testified that branches were found on top of Abby and Libby’s bodies but that the bodies were not completely concealed, WTHR reported.Liam Quinn, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Noun
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According to the lawsuit that Rocky later filed, the father of seven claimed Kevin hired a private detective to investigate Keiko.Alex Gurley, People.com, 8 Oct. 2024
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Starring and executive-produced by Farrell (who currently headlines HBO’s The Penguin), Sugar is a contemporary and unique take on the private detective genre.Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 2 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The report also indicates the two have taken care to keep their romance out of the private eye for what seems to be a substantial amount of time.Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 24 Oct. 2024
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Worse yet, a seedy private eye (Kevin Bacon) starts invading Maxine’s personal space and threatens to expose her murderous past.Tim Lammers, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near private investigator
Cite this Entry
“Private investigator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20investigator. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
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