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Dictionary Language resources

detective

Syllabification: (de·tec·tive)

Pronunciation: /diˈtektiv/

Translate detective | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

Definition of detective

noun

a person, especially a police officer, whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes.
[as modifier] denoting a particular rank of police officer:Detective Sergeant Fox
[as modifier] concerning crime and its investigation:detective work

Origin:

mid 19th century: from detect, on the pattern of pairs such as elect, elective. The noun was originally short for detective policeman, from an adjectival use of the word in the sense 'serving to detect'