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

After the alleged extortion started, Huang said, he hired an attorney and a private detective and began surreptitiously recording conversations with the defendants.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2024

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

She would have to hire a detective, a very private detective, who had not been associated with her in her practice or in the courts.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin