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
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
Hale recruited a brooding private detective from Kansas City, who went by the name of Pike.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
