as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons the firm hired a hawkshaw to find out who was fencing stock from their warehouse

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hawkshaw
Noun
  • Following the incident, Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad detectives allegedly seized two firearms.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Drain, the detective who worked on missing-person cases in Seattle, became a strong advocate for NamUs.
    Nick McMillan, NPR, 10 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Spiro said the investigators who approached Jane Doe did not coerce or threaten her.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 12 Mar. 2025
  • New evidence was gathered in November 2023, and both were arrested March 4, investigators said.
    Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • These private eyes spy on children in order to determine who is or isn’t living within the district’s strict attendance boundaries.
    Tim Deroche, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2025
  • In that time, Will has started over as a private eye in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.
    Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 7 Jan. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Hawkshaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaw. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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