Origin: Latin suffix -ive
Detective has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
a police officer who investigates crimes
"The detective spent all night reviewing security footage to solve the burglary."
an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public
"The private detective spent months tracking down the missing heirloom that had vanished from a high-security vault."
A police officer who looks for evidence as part of solving a crime; an investigator.
"The detective spent hours interviewing witnesses to gather clues about the burglary."
In plain English: A detective is an investigator who solves crimes by gathering clues and interviewing people to find out what happened.
"The detective found all the clues at the crime scene."
Usage: Use this word to describe either a professional law enforcement agent investigating crimes or, in fiction, any private investigator hired to solve mysteries. It refers specifically to the person conducting the inquiry rather than the criminal act itself.
Employed in detecting.
"The detective carefully examined the crime scene to uncover any hidden clues."
Derived from the Latin word dētegō, meaning "to uncover," the adjective describes something revealed. The short form "detective" originally served as a shorthand for phrases like "detective policeman."