How to Use detective in a Sentence

detective

1 of 2 adjective
Definition of detectivenext
Synonyms for detectivenext
  • We had to do some detective work to find out who used to own the property.
  • He enjoys reading detective novels.
  • The matter has been turned over to the detective bureau.
    — cleveland, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The unit now has six teams, each with four detectives and a detective sergeant.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2022
  • Your move: Throw on your best detective coat and play Nancy Drew. 17.
    — Alyssa Girdwain, Women's Health, 17 Mar. 2023
  • College kids and a detective team up to stop the impending threat.
    — Milan Polk, Men's Health, 13 Sep. 2022
  • The idea of the more detective, noirish Batman is just really fun.
    — The New Yorker, 29 May 2022
  • Cook said parents will have to do a bit of detective work to see if the child is facing a test or hasn’t finished a project.
    — Elizabeth Chang, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2022
  • Krell got lucky with that bit of detective work and found Patricia’s son.
    — Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Copies were made, so a bit of detective work is necessary.
    — Brenda Yenke, cleveland, 16 Feb. 2022
  • Elise King is champing at the bit to return to her day job as a detective inspector with the major crime team.
    — Mary Cadden, USA TODAY, 15 June 2022
  • Dokweiler was the detective sergeant in charge of the case and questioned Zoellner hours after the stabbing.
    — Freddy Brewster, NBC News, 5 Aug. 2021
  • Joe Ide writes a detective series in which each entry seems unique.
    — Tom Nolan, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2021
  • Your life is about to feel like a detective novel, so get out the magnifying glass!
    — Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 9 Mar. 2022
  • Growing up, detective movies and TV shows set in Hong Kong were a post-dinner pastime at my aunt’s house.
    — Christina Liao, Vogue, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Atkins said Brown was in line for a promotion and would posthumously be awarded the rank of detective sergeant.
    — oregonlive, 26 July 2021
  • He was soon promoted to the Brooklyn North gang squad, and, in 2015, he was promoted to sergeant detective squad.
    — Tom Robbins, The New Yorker, 24 May 2021
  • The novels in this roundup suggest that detective work is about much more than just the crime – especially when done in teams.
    — Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Sep. 2023
  • This is a detective show but, at its core, a family drama.
    — Leigh Blickley, Vulture, 31 May 2021
  • Book said in his clue package that featured an Animals 101 book, a detective badge, a ghost and an open mic night sign.
    — Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
  • At the end of the day, figuring out what’s irritating your skin can require quite a bit of detective work.
    — Melanie Rud, SELF, 1 Feb. 2023
  • For more than a decade, she is hunted down by detective Priyonath Mukhopadhyay.
    — Patrick Frater, Variety, 2 Feb. 2024
  • This new special goes inside the long-running British detective drama and its spinoffs.
    — Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2023
  • And it was considered the best of that decade’s wave of detective dramas, even winning the drama series Emmy in 1978.
    — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 3 Jan. 2024
  • At home, Vlad’s father was engaged in a frantic, detective-like pursuit of his son.
    — Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 16 July 2022
  • Benjamin’s mother also showed a detective footage from her cellphone of the boy hitting himself on the head and asking for bread.
    — Jacob Beltran, San Antonio Express-News, 25 Feb. 2022
  • Dressed in a detective coat and hat, the protagonist of the photo seems to emerge from a cloud of underground steam rising from beneath East 37th Street.
    — Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022
  • The story’s a bit convoluted, though no more than most detective plots.
    — Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2022
  • So the idea of being on this fun, detective mystery with Christina was exciting.
    — Nojan Aminosharei, Harper's BAZAAR, 18 Apr. 2023
  • Clearance rates fell as detective squads were stricken by the virus, and faith in law enforcement faltered amid deaths of Black people at the hands of police.
    — Fox News, 31 Dec. 2020
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detective

2 of 2 noun
  • She is a detective on the police force.
  • She hired a detective to follow her husband.
  • Detective Sgt. Lee is working on the case.
  • Retired Waltham detective Tom Bryant is one of the lucky ones.
    — Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 9 May 2023
  • The detectives have since arrested and charged two men connected to the crime as of June 21.
    — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 22 June 2023
  • The detective who took the case, Capt. Shannon Mack, relished the chance to investigate the call.
    — Joanna Slater, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023
  • The structure is that at the end, once the characters are all dead, the detective does this amazing summing up of the entire plot.
    — Jenelle Riley, Variety, 11 Aug. 2023
  • Ethan and the detective become friends, and their scenes together are gold.
    — Dana Feldman, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
  • The detectives on the ground and the police department's helicopter searched the area, but there have been no sightings of Strain.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Jones said his detectives worked with school system IT staffers to identify the 12-year-old.
    — Nicole Asbury, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Murray believed the man in the driver’s seat was a detective, Lonseth said.
    — Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
  • Sitting across from Ruby’s blank stare, the detective tried again.
    — Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
  • At that point, a task force detective used motor vehicle records to track down Heuermann and the Chevy Avalanche.
    — Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 19 July 2023
  • The detective declined to say whether the suspects in the Rancho Palos Verdes shooting had been linked to any other crimes.
    — Jeremy Childs, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2023
  • While investigating the crime scene, detectives found a single key that could not be used to open any of the doors in the apartment where Maria was found.
    — Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 18 Aug. 2023
  • And Patrick Nicholas was seen throwing the cigarette butt on the ground that was collected by our detectives.
    — Natalie Morales, CBS News, 18 Nov. 2023
  • The incident led public corruption detectives to search the home of a staffer.
    — Alexandra Marquez, NBC News, 16 June 2023
  • The child’s parents were present when the shooting took place but were uninjured, according to the detective.
    — City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2023
  • In the teases for Stabler's spinoff series, the fiery detective wastes no time getting back into the mix after his time away.
    — Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 10 Jan. 2024
  • Richard Roundtree, who starred as the memorable detective in 1971’s Shaft, died Tuesday.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Laura Cordova said a detective told her that Guerra was found slumped over in the backseat of the vehicle, and that Soto was in the front.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2023
  • The baby sister who had blown off the family dinners became the main contact with the detectives.
    — Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
  • The detective said the woman had suffered burn injuries and smoke inhalation.
    — David Hernandez, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2023
  • The detective assigned to the case, and the state attorney handling the case, did not respond for comment in time for publication.
    — Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 8 Mar. 2024
  • The detectives soon discovered more than 5,000 gift cards from Target and Apple in the man’s possession.
    — Steve Thompson, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023
  • The two started communicating and the detective told Frizielle the girl was 14 years old or almost 15, the affidavit states.
    — Tracy Neal, Arkansas Online, 8 May 2023
  • The first witness was lead detective on the case, Jeff O'Driscoll, who answered questions from the defense and prosecutors.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 12 June 2023
  • The investigation came to a standstill as the detective was unable to find out any leads about Heather’s last whereabouts or where she was last seen.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023
  • The lead detective on Christian's case did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
    — Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 24 June 2023
  • Knoxville police detectives are en route to interview the two suspects.
    — Warren Kulo | Wkulo@al.com, al, 8 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'detective.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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