Meanings
plural private investigators
- An agent detective hired by a private party for the purpose of investigation or evidence gathering.
Synonyms: dick, gumshoe, PI, private detective, private dick, private eye, snoop
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn agent detective hired by a private party for the purpose of investigation or evidence gathering.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsomeone who can be employed as a detective to collect information and assist in criminal investigations
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 私人偵探 /私人侦探
- 私人偵探 /私人侦探 (sīrén zhēntàn)agent hired by a private party
Finnish yksityisetsivä
- yksityisetsiväagent hired by a private party
French détective privé
- détective privéagent hired by a private party
Italian investigatore privato
- investigatore privatoagent hired by a private party
Polish prywatny detektyw
- prywatny detektywagent hired by a private party
Portuguese detetive particular
- detetive particularagent hired by a private party
Swedish privatdetektiv
- privatdetektivagent hired by a private party
Cite this entry
private investigator. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/private%20investigator
“private investigator.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/private%20investigator. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “private investigator,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/private%20investigator.
Source: private investigator on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.