Noun: detective di'tek-tiv
- A police officer who investigates crimes
"The detective followed leads to solve the mysterious disappearance";
- investigator, tec, police detective
- An investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public
"The private detective gathered evidence for the divorce case"
Derived forms: detectives
Type of: bobby [Brit, informal], investigator, officer, plod [Brit, informal], police officer
Encyclopedia: Detective