as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons the firm hired a hawkshaw to find out who was fencing stock from their warehouse

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hawkshaw
Noun
  • Katt's other notable roles included that of teacher Harry Senate on the school drama Boston Public, crooked finance associate Greg Weinstein in Boiler Room, and detective Frank Duggar in Speakeasy.
    Kat Stinson, EW.com, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Baltimore County Police Homicide Unit detectives are investigating the shooting.
    Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Tesla Center footage allegedly showed McIntire lighting a device, which ignites, and throwing it on a Cybertruck. McIntire then returned to the area of the witness’ home on foot and was seen leaving the area in his vehicle around 11:13 p.m., investigators said.
    PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Miami Gardens’ investigators on Friday afternoon were still trying to determine who the shooter was and the circumstances of the altercation, the spokesperson said.
    David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Levitt stars in Killer Heat as Nick Bali, a private eye who travels to the Greek island of Crete to investigate the death of shipping magnate Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), who plunged to his death during a free solo rock climb.
    Tim Lammers, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2024
  • The film closes with Stephanie thriving as a successful vlogger and part-time private eye while Emily, ever the con artist, adjusts to life in prison.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 14 Mar. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Hawkshaw.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hawkshaw. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!