private eyes
Detectives for hire
Private eyes is the plural of private eye, slang for a private detective or investigator—someone hired outside official law enforcement to conduct surveillance, find missing persons, or gather evidence.
The term evokes noir fiction and film: The private eyes tailed the suspect across town.
Also called private investigators or PIs.
- noirHard-boiled film genre
- clueSolving aid
- gumshoeInformal term for detective
- investigatorOne who examines evidence
- missing personsUnlocated individuals sought by authorities
stakeout · staking out · sleuth · detective · operative · shamus · cheating · informants · trenchcoat · tail · case · shadow · under cover · fedora · smoke-filled room · peeper · Sam Spade · file
- investigation serviceslocal firms, surveillance teams
- crimefighterscops, detectives, FBI, police, sheriffs
- Detective Worldsleuths, gumshoes, investigators, detective agencies
- Sleuthing GroupsScooby gang, Hardy Boys, detective duo
private eyespolice
Civil law enforcement
law enforcement · cops · federal agents · FBI agents · sheriffs
private eyespublic servants
Government-employed workers
civil servants · prosecutors · district attorneys · government employees · public defenders
private, privacy, appropriate, deprive, deprived, privation, deprivation, private eye, deprives