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

She said a private detective hired by the family found no criminal records for a person named Paramjit Singh in the state, suggesting authorities may have mistaken him for someone else.

From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025

This much I can tell you: Colin Farrell plays a private detective in “Sugar.”

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2024

“Vaughan who is well acquainted with the Indians stated that his real interest in the case was to...have the guilty party prosecuted,” a private detective wrote.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann