detective

/dəˈtɛkɾɪv/

/dɪˈtɛktɪv/

Other forms: detectives

Whether it's a police detective who investigates crimes or a private detective hired to find a missing person, a detective is someone whose job is to find out hard-to-get information.

Detective comes from the Latin root detectus meaning to uncover or expose. Detectives detect, or discern and uncover the truth, the way a dog might detect an odor and uncover a bone. Sherlock Holmes, perhaps the most famous detective in fiction, used disguises, deductive reasoning and forensics to solve crimes. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth," he famously said.

Definitions of detective

1. noun

   a police officer who investigates crimes
   synonyms: investigator, police detective, tec

   types:

   dick, gumshoe, hawkshaw

   someone who is a detective

   plainclothesman

   a detective who wears civilian clothes on duty

   tracer

   an investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods

   type of:

   officer, police officer, policeman

   a member of a police force
2. noun

   an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public
   types:

   PI, operative, private detective, private eye, private investigator, shamus, sherlock

   someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information

   sleuth, sleuthhound

   a detective who follows a trail

   hotel detective, house detective, house dick

   a private detective employed by a hotel or retail store

   inquiry agent

   a private detective

   store detective

   a private detective employed by a merchant to stop pilferage

   type of:

   investigator

   someone who investigates