From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary EnglishRelated topics: Police, Occupationsdetectivede‧tec‧tive /dɪˈtektɪv/ ●●○AWL noun [countable]1SCPa police officer whose job is to discover information about crimes and catchcriminals →store detective2 (also private detective)BOFIND OUT someone who is paid to discover information about someone or something
She hired a detective to find out if her husband was having an affair.3 →detective work4 →detective story/novel etcExamples from the Corpusdetective• Detectives made a TVappeal for anyone with any information about the crime to contact them.• The customers say you'd have to be a detective to make sense of it.• I'm a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?• Anyone with information is being asked to call DetectiveMike Place.• Let me make sure I understand you, officer-mister detective.• a privatedetective• The locksnapped and the detectivelevered up the bottomsection.• Furthermore, the detectives are no longer in that basicsymbol of police identity - the uniform.• Form is one of the hiddenassets of the detectivestory.• Unless she and Mr Greenleaf decided to stay to see what the detective was going to do with him.• He was a very intelligent and perceptive young detective.
