detectives

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.

See Examples For:

detectives

Jonathan and Juliet, who occasionally act as amateur detectives, are smitten with each other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler star in the latest DC Studios series on HBO, playing a pair of intergalactic detectives who work for the Green Lantern Corps.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

As part of investigating the assault on SW, detectives learned that Brambles had been released from custody under California’s parole laws for elderly inmates.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

But after Gary Mouat died nearly a year later, detectives revisited the first case.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Yet from the outset the fascination with private detectives was mixed with aversion.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann