detective
noun
[ dɪˈtɛktɪv ]
• a person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes.
• "detectives are anxious to interview anyone who saw the car"
Similar:
investigator,
private detective,
private investigator,
operative,
inquiry agent,
CID officer,
detective constable,
DC,
detective sergeant,
DS,
detective inspector,
DI,
detective chief inspector,
DCI,
detective superintendent,
detective chief superintendent,
private eye,
PI,
sleuth,
sleuth-hound,
jack,
snoop,
snooper,
peeper,
shamus,
gumshoe,
dick,
private dick,
tec,
bogey,
hawkshaw,
sherlock,
Pinkerton,
Origin:
mid 19th century: from detect. The noun was originally short for detective policeman, from an adjectival use of the word in the sense ‘serving to detect’.
