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tec

tec

3 9.9
A police officer who investigates crimes and finds who did them
  • noun
  • /tɛk/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tec

Examples

  • Tec and his crew are real.

  • There's a tec taking her down.

  • There’s a "tec" takin’ her down.

  • He ain't no tec.

  • Blimey, he ain't a tec, he's a blooming busybody.

  • A plainclothes officer, part of a curfew enforcement team, shot the man after he allegedly pulled a Tec-9 assault-style pistol in the 200 block of 14th Street at 8:06 p.m.

    Blog text (23)
  • The tec quickly gathered evidence at the crime scene to solve the case.

  • Everyone knew that the tec was the best detective in the city.

  • The tec interviewed witnesses to uncover the truth about the robbery.

Synonyms

detective
vstec
2.7

A police officer who investigates crimes and finds out what happened

is the informal, casual name used for such an officer
investigator
vstec
756 3.4

A police officer who looks into crimes to find evidence

is the informal label rather than a formal occupational term
27 2.7

A police officer who investigates crimes and collects evidence

is a more informal alternative to that official job title

Surface Forms

tec singular
tecs plural

Etymology

The word tec is an informal short form of detective, from the verb detect meaning 'to find out'. So, a tec is a person who 'finds out' what happened in a crime.