detective
gb/dɪtˈɛktɪv/ us/dɪtˈɛktɪv/
B1
English
~ 2900
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
Person who investigates crimes
A person whose job is to find out who did a crime and get proof.
Usage pattern:
[someone] works as a detective
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'detective' with 'police officer'. While all detectives can be police officers, not all police officers are detectives.
Synonyms
investigator (A broader term that can include people investigating non-criminal matters.)
|
sleuth (Informal or literary term for a detective, often used in fiction.)
Antonyms
criminal (Opposite role in the context of crime; a person committing crimes rather than solving them.)
Collocations
private detective
|police detective
|undercover detective
|detective work
|detective agency
Themes
law
|crime
|work
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The detective interviewed several witnesses to the robbery.
- She hired a private detective to follow her business partner.
- Detectives found new evidence at the crime scene.
- The police detective worked tirelessly on the murder case.
Learner examples
- The detective asked me questions about the night.
- A detective looks for clues to solve crimes.
- My uncle is a police detective.
- The detective found the stolen car.
Grammar
Dictionary form
detective
IPA
GB/dɪtˈɛktɪv/
US/dɪtˈɛktɪv/
Syllables & stress
de - tect - ive (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (tect)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: detective
- Plural: detectives
Word family
Forms
detectives
noun
Related words
detector
noun B2
detectable
adjective C1
Negative and opposite forms
undetectable
adjective
Expressions
detective story
1/dɪtˈɛktɪv stˈɔɹi/
fixed phrase
Fiction about solving a crime
A story, often in a book or movie, about a person who finds out who did a crime.
Examples
- I love reading old-fashioned detective stories.
- The movie is based on a famous detective story.
detective work
1/dɪtˈɛktɪv wˈɚk/
fixed phrase
Investigating to solve a case or problem
The careful work of finding out facts to solve a crime or problem.
Examples
- It took some clever detective work to find the missing files.
- Her success was due to good detective work.