Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

detective

[dih-tek-tiv] / dɪˈtɛk tɪv /
NOUN
investigator of crime
Synonyms
STRONGEST
agent informer police officer private eye private investigator prosecutor reporter sleuth spy
STRONG
analyst bloodhound bull constable cop dick eavesdropper eye fed fink flatfoot gumshoe nark peeper roper scout sergeant shadow shamus shoofly snoop tail
WEAK
P.I. Sherlock Holmes bird dog plainclothes officer slewfoot

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When the detective asked her to take a polygraph, she consented.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

“Tony, we found her,” he said the detective replied.

From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026

The entertainment was provided by comedian Bob Hope and actor, Telly Savalas, best known for playing the lollipop-loving, TV detective, Kojak.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Grandfather, who puffs on Gauloises cigarettes, resembles Baroness Orczy’s Old Man in the Corner, an armchair detective who solves crimes from the confines of a London tea shop.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

But once you were admitted upstairs, like I was, since I was practically one of them, well, then you got to see what it meant to be a detective.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.