private investigator
Licensed civilian detective
A private investigator is someone hired to gather information, conduct surveillance, or investigate matters outside official law enforcement.
They handle cases like infidelity suspicions, missing persons, background checks, and insurance fraud.
Often shortened to PI or called a private eye: She hired a private investigator to find her birth parents.
Belted, knee-length raincoat
- fedoraSoft creased felt hat
- smokyFilled with combustion haze
- alleyNarrow way between buildings
- femme fataleTreacherous enchantress
whiskey · nightclub · shadows · blackmail · hardboiled · pistol · gumshoe · gritty
Prolonged covert observation
- tailRear animal appendage
- shadowingFollowing to observe
- trackingMonitoring location over time
- observationAttentive watching or remark
monitoring · photography · videotaping · binoculars · telephoto · hidden camera · following · watching
Container or instance
- solveFind the answer
- evidenceFacts supporting truth
- cluesHints toward answers
- deductionConclusion from premises
forensics · interrogate · track · informant · snoop · detect · prowl · casebook
Secretly engaged in espionage
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- infiltrationCovert entry into organization
- eavesdroppingSecretly listening to others
bugging · wiretap · hidden · surreptitious · secretive · cloak-and-dagger · pretexting · alias
Iconic Victorian-era investigator
- HolmesFictional London investigator
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
- thrillerSuspense-driven narrative genre
suspense · red herring · magnifying glass · Watson · Poirot · Miss Marple · Sam Spade · Veronica Mars
trenchcoat
Belted, knee-length raincoat
femme fatale · whiskey · nightclub · shadows · blackmail · hardboiled · pistol · gumshoe · gritty · cynical
stakeout
Prolonged covert observation
observation · monitoring · photography · videotaping · binoculars · telephoto · hidden camera · following · watching · documenting
case
Container or instance
deduction · forensics · interrogate · track · informant · snoop · detect · prowl · casebook · sleuthing
undercover
Secretly engaged in espionage
- disguiseIdentity-concealing alteration
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- infiltrationCovert entry into organization
eavesdropping · bugging · wiretap · hidden · surreptitious · secretive · cloak-and-dagger · pretexting · alias · cover story
Sherlock
Iconic Victorian-era investigator
- HolmesFictional London investigator
- whodunitCrime fiction identifying perpetrator
- mysterySomething unexplained or unknown
thriller · suspense · red herring · magnifying glass · Watson · Poirot · Miss Marple · Sam Spade · Veronica Mars · Magnum
- crime fictiondetective fiction, murder mystery, detective novels, detective novel, detective
- mysteryclue, detective, suspect, clues, sleuth
- licensed professionalsdoctor, dentist, lawyer, attorney, pharmacist
- professionsdoctor, lawyer, engineer, teacher, nurse
- missing personsmissing person, disappearance, missing children, missing child, vanished
- justice workerspolice officer, detective, judge, prosecutor, defense attorney
private investigatorpolice officer
Law enforcement agent
cop · detective · FBI agent · federal agent · police detective
private, privacy, investigate, investigation, privately, investigator, investigated, privation, investigating