private detective
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.
It is the first of five novels starring Neal Carey: “a graduate student who, much like me,” the author wrote, “was too busy making a living as a private detective to finish his degree.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
Three flavors of investigators combine here: the citizen detective, the private detective and the police detective.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026
Marten's family also hired a private detective to find her.
From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025
Both articles were produced during a period when the newspaper has acknowledged paying the private detective explicitly to obtain material surreptitiously.
From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2024
In January 1919, after the police detained Middleton and his companion, the private detective interrogated them.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
