noun
someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information
• Syn: ↑private detective, ↑PI, ↑private eye, ↑operative, ↑shamus, ↑sherlock
• Hypernyms: ↑detective
• Hyponyms: ↑hotel detective, ↑house detective, ↑house dick, ↑inquiry agent, ↑store detective
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noun, pl ⋯ -tors [count]
: someone who works as a detective and who is not a member of a police force
She hired a private investigator to follow her husband.
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ˌprivate deˈtective [private detective] (also ˌprivate inˈvestigator) (also informal ˌprivate ˈeye) noun
a ↑detective who is not in the police, but who can be employed to find out information, find a missing person, follow sb, etc.
See also: ↑private investigator
Useful english dictionary. 2012.