English

Noun

detective ‎(plural detectives)

1. (law enforcement) A police officer who looks for evidence as part of solving a crime; an investigator.
   • 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 7, in Well Tackled!:

     The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.

2. A person employed to find information not otherwise available to the public.

Synonyms

• (law enforcement): DT (abbreviation), Det (abbreviation)
• (person employed to find information): private detective, private investigator
• (person employed to find information): (slang) dick, private dick
• sleuth

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Asturian

Noun

detective m, f ‎(plural detectives)

1. detective

Galician

Noun

detective m ‎(plural detectives)

1. detective

Portuguese

Noun

detective m (plural detectives)

1. Alternative spelling of detetive

Spanish

Etymology

From English detective.

Noun

detective m, f ‎(plural detectives)

1. detective