Private eye
Private eye noun - A person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons.
Usage example: unable to get the interest of the police, they hired a private eye to find their missing daughter
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Synonyms for Private eye
Sleuth is a synonym for private eye in detective topic. In some cases you can use "Sleuth" instead a noun phrase "Private eye", when it comes to topics like private detective. popular alternative
Sleuth
Sleuth noun - A person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons.
Usage example: the popular TV sleuth lives a much more action-packed life than do his real-world counterparts
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Synonyms for Sleuth
Private eye is a synonym for sleuth in detective topic. You can use "Private eye" instead a noun "Sleuth". popular alternative
Nearby Word: sleuthing
Mutual synonyms
Both terms in one sentence
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This might be the first detective series where the main detective is a police detective (as opposed to an Amateur Sleuth or Private Eye), basically making The Lestrade the hero.
Source: Comic Strip / Dick Tracy -
Private Eye Monologue: Parodied in several places, including the epilogue.This is what being a hard boiled problem sleuth is all about.
Source: Webcomic / Problem Sleuth -
Amateur Sleuth: Brendan Frye, who's too young to actually be the private eye he acts like.
Source: Film / Brick
Cite this Source
Sleuth and Private eye. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/private_eye/sleuth
Private eye & Sleuth. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/private_eye/sleuth>.
Sleuth or Private eye. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/private_eye/sleuth.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "private eye" and "sleuth" have occurred on timeline