detectives

noun

Definition of detectivesnext
plural of detective
as in investigators
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons the code used by the serial killer in his letters to the police was actually cracked by an amateur detective

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of detectives Police identified teenage boys through video surveillance Mount Prospect police detectives were able to identify some of the teenage suspects through video surveillance footage of the incident at the 7-Eleven, the department said. — Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY, 4 Jan. 2025 As previously mentioned, detectives are re-examining the 2023 and 2024 cases as part of this broader investigation. — Becca Longmire, People.com, 3 Jan. 2025 The detectives were unable to determine whether Jackie Greer's shooting was intentional or an accident, according to the release. — Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 3 Jan. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

detective
detectives
detector
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Detectives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detectives. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on detectives

Nglish: Translation of detectives for Spanish Speakers

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All