as in detectives
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the firm hired a hawkshaw to find out who was fencing stock from their warehouse
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hawkshaws
Noun
-
Homicide detectives are investigating the incident as a drive-by shooting, police said.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Apr. 2026 -
Wentworth Area detectives were investigating.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Some of them said that the investigators initially did not contact important figures at the company.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
No information on the possible charges those people face was shared by investigators.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The untitled half-hour project is a workplace comedy set in the world of private detectives, which continues the proud tradition of Los Angeles private eyes that began with Philip Marlowe and will end with this show.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
16 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Hawkshaws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaws. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
