as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
unable to get the interest of the police, they hired a private eye to find their missing daughter
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of private eye
On one level, Resuscitation of a Hanged Man is a private eye novel.
—
Dwyer Murphy
june 24, Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
The dark comedy reaches its Season 1 conclusion Friday on NBC and it’s poised to bring a new set of twists and cliffhangers as the group tries to evade law enforcement and a private eye plotting blackmail.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025
The track ended the contract after only a few months of effort by the private eyes.
—Katie Bo Lillis, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for private eye
Dwyer Murphy
june 24, Literary Hub, 24 June 2025
The dark comedy reaches its Season 1 conclusion Friday on NBC and it’s poised to bring a new set of twists and cliffhangers as the group tries to evade law enforcement and a private eye plotting blackmail.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025
The track ended the contract after only a few months of effort by the private eyes.
—Katie Bo Lillis, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for private eye
Recent Examples of Synonyms for private eye
Noun
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Scott, McDonald and Neary were arrested, but Rackauckas and a Fullerton police detective persuaded Neary to testify against the other two men, according to the motion.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
17 Sep. 2025
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Reigle and her team tested about a dozen formulations and viscosities, playing detective to figure out where a whole host of issues was coming from.—
Megan McIntyre,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Boelter’s motivation remains unclear, but investigators found a one-and-a-half-page letter, described as rambling and difficult to read, that was ascribed to him.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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One of the main enforcers of H-2A rules, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, last year had one of the lowest levels of investigators since the H-2A program was launched in the 1980s, Rutgers University researchers found.—
Max Blau,
ProPublica,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In the 1999 thriller 8mm, Nicolas Cage plays a private detective who watches a graphic film of a girl’s murder.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
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In the second movie in Ethan Coen and his wife Tricia Cooke’s lesbian B-movie trilogy (the first was the fizzy Drive Away Dolls), Margaret Qualley plays Honey, a stylish private detective trying to solve a case that involves a cult.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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There was a bigger focus on Marissa in The Good Fight, with Steele holding a series regular role on the drama series as the firm’s private investigator.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
15 Sep. 2025
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Maislin hired a private investigator to find out who had hit the young firefighter.—
Otto Rabe,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Private eye.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/private%20eye. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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