Phrase guide

detective work

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

investigative research

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, uncountable

Examples

  • We did some detective work and found out that the water was getting in through a cracked pipe.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a police investigation to determine the perpetrator

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • detection is hard on the feet

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: detection, detecting, sleuthing

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: police work, police investigation

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

5 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: detektivarbejde — investigative work
  • Esperanto: detektivado — investigative work
  • German: Detektivarbeit — investigative work
  • Norwegian Bokmål: detektivarbeid — investigative work
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: detektivarbeid — investigative work