as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
when the police insisted that it was an accident and not murder, she hired a private detective
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of private detective
That’s after Emily went to jail at the end of A Simple Favor, and Stephanie, moonlighting as a private detective, helped put her there.
—
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2025
Comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw joins the company as King Julian’s private detective.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
Loser of the Week Michael McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant turned private detective, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in harassing and stalking a Chinese expatriate named Xu Jin, who is wanted by his homeland’s government.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
At the end of A Simple Favor, Emily (Lively) goes to prison and Stephanie (Kendrick) moonlights as a private detective, which makes her mommy vlog more interesting and extremely popular.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for private detective
Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 14 Apr. 2025
Comedian and impressionist Jon Culshaw joins the company as King Julian’s private detective.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 17 Mar. 2025
Loser of the Week Michael McMahon, a retired NYPD sergeant turned private detective, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in harassing and stalking a Chinese expatriate named Xu Jin, who is wanted by his homeland’s government.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
At the end of A Simple Favor, Emily (Lively) goes to prison and Stephanie (Kendrick) moonlights as a private detective, which makes her mommy vlog more interesting and extremely popular.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for private detective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private detective
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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Eliott Simpson, senior aviation accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the plane departed from Teterboro, New Jersey, at about 11:15 p.m. on May 21 and flew to Wichita, Kansas.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
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However, investigators are still working to determine what sparked the violence.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
24 May 2025
Noun
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The dark comedy reaches its Season 1 conclusion Friday on NBC and it’s poised to bring a new set of twists and cliffhangers as the group tries to evade law enforcement and a private eye plotting blackmail.—
Robert Lloyd,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2025
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Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes,
26 Sep. 2024
Noun
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As per IMDb, Spider-Noir follows: An aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York is forced to grapple with his past life as the city's one and only superhero.—
Billie Melissa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
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In fact, the shadowy figures were private investigators, hired by a top racetrack in Kentucky to investigate Yakteen’s former boss – the legendary trainer Bob Baffert – to try to find evidence that the famous white-haired horseman doped his horses.—
Katie Bo Lillis,
CNN Money,
2 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Private detective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20detective. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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