detective

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a police officer who investigates crimes
  2. noun an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public

Etymology

The adjective is from Classical Latin dētēct-, past participial stem of dētegō (“to detect”), + -ive. The noun is an ellipsis of detective policeman, detective officer, or a similar construction.

In classic literature

Synonyms

investigator, tec, police detective

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