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.

Claude, meanwhile, having left the police to become a private detective, is obsessed with solving a string of related wartime murders, including that of Huguette’s father.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Marten's family also hired a private detective to find her.

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025

A private detective finally found Madrigal living in Las Vegas with her oldest son, Oren, who didn’t learn about his mother’s tragic, historic past until answering the researcher’s call.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2024

I can also tell you that his character, John Sugar, is not an ordinary private detective, in ways that go beyond his fetishization of the film noir heroes he emulates.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2024

A savage storm blew across the prairie and turned the streets into rivers of mud, so the private detective didn’t arrive in Ponca City until dark, only to discover that Brown wasn’t there.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann