Alternative forms

• inspectour (obsolete, rare)

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:English terms borrowed from Latin#INSPECTORCategory:English terms derived from Latin#INSPECTOR īnspector, from īnspiciō, equivalent to inspect +‎ -orCategory:English terms suffixed with -or (agent noun)#INSPECTOR.

Pronunciation

• (non-rhotic)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈspɛk.təː/, [ɪnˈspɛk.tʰəː]Category:English 3-syllable words#INSPECTORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• (rhotic)
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈspɛk.tɚ/, [ɪnˈspɛk.tʰɚ] ~ [ɪnˈspɛk.tʰɹ̩]Category:English 3-syllable words#INSPECTORCategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR

    • Audio (US):

      (file)

      Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• Hyphenation: in‧spec‧tor

Noun

inspector (plural inspectors)Category:English lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:English nouns#INSPECTORCategory:English countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:English entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. A person employed to inspect something.
   • 2013 July 1, Peter Wilby, quoting Pasi Sahlberg, “Finland's education ambassador spreads the word”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎, volume 189, number 6, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 June 2018, page 30:

     Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16. […]. There are no inspectors, no exams until the age of 18, no school league tables, no private tuition industry, no school uniforms. […].

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSPECTOR

   • 2025 February 11, Jennifer Hansler, “USAID IG fired day after report critical of impacts of Trump administration’s dismantling of the agency”, in CNN‎:

     Martin had served as inspector general since December 2023. While President Donald Trump fired inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies during his first week in office, the USAID watchdog had remained in place.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSPECTOR

2. (law enforcementCategory:en:Law enforcement#INSPECTOR) A police officer ranking below superintendent.
3. (computingCategory:en:Computing#INSPECTOR) A software tool used to examine something.
   • 2011, Adam McDaniel, HTML5‎, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 166:

     Google Chrome has a built-in development tool called the Chrome Inspector. You can use it to examine the HTML elements in a web page; review what resources — or files, cookies, and databases — are active; follow network activity; […].

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSPECTOR

   • 2020, Anatoly Belous, Vitali Saladukha, Viruses, Hardware and Software Trojans, page 112:

     After that, with the help of the disk inspector, you can at any time compare the status of programs and system disk areas with the original one.

     Category:English terms with quotations#INSPECTOR

Further reading

• “inspector”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• inceptors, proincest

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Catalan terms borrowed from Latin#INSPECTORCategory:Catalan terms derived from Latin#INSPECTOR īnspectōrem. First attested in 1803.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [in.spəkˈto]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [in.spekˈtoɾ]Category:Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR^[1][2]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

  Category:Catalan terms with audio pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• Rhymes: (Central, Balearic) -o, (Valencia) -oɾCategory:Rhymes:Catalan/o#INSPECTORCategory:Rhymes:Catalan/o/3 syllables#INSPECTORCategory:Rhymes:Catalan/oɾ#INSPECTORCategory:Rhymes:Catalan/oɾ/3 syllables#INSPECTOR
• Hyphenation: in‧spek‧tor

Noun

inspector m (plural inspectors, feminine inspectora, feminine plural inspectores)Category:Catalan lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Catalan nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Catalan countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Catalan entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Catalan masculine nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. inspector

References

Further reading

• “inspector”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “inspector”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “inspector” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “inspector”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Etymology

From LatinCategory:Galician terms derived from Latin#INSPECTOR īnspector.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inspekˈtoɾ/ [in.s̺pekˈt̪oɾ]Category:Galician terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• Rhymes: -oɾCategory:Rhymes:Galician/oɾ#INSPECTORCategory:Rhymes:Galician/oɾ/3 syllables#INSPECTOR
• Hyphenation: in‧spec‧tor

Noun

inspector m (plural inspectores, feminine inspectora, feminine plural inspectoras)Category:Galician lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Galician nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Galician countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Galician entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Galician masculine nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. inspector

Further reading

• “inspector”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “inspector”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ĩːˈspɛk.tɔr]Category:Latin 3-syllable words#INSPECTORCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [inˈspɛk.tor]Category:Latin 3-syllable words#INSPECTORCategory:Latin terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• Hyphenation: īn‧spec‧tor

Etymology 1

From īnspiciō + -tor.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

References

• “inspector”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "inspector", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “inspector”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• inspector in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Etymology

From LatinCategory:Occitan terms derived from Latin#INSPECTOR īnspector.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

  Category:Occitan terms with audio pronunciation#INSPECTOR

Noun

inspector m (plural inspectors, feminine inspectritz, feminine plural inspectrises)Category:Occitan lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Occitan nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Occitan countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Occitan entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Occitan masculine nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. inspector

Adjective

inspector (feminine inspectora, masculine plural inspectores, feminine plural inspectoras)Category:Portuguese lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese adjectives#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of inspetor; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspellingCategory:Portuguese forms superseded in 1943#INSPECTORCategory:European Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#INSPECTOR

Noun

inspector m (plural inspectores, feminine inspectora, feminine plural inspectoras)Category:Portuguese lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese masculine nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1990 in Portugal) of inspetor; still used where the agreement hasn’t come into effect and may occur as a sporadic misspellingCategory:Portuguese forms superseded in 1943#INSPECTORCategory:European Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#INSPECTORCategory:Portuguese forms superseded by AO1990#INSPECTOR

Further reading

• “inspector”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from Latin#INSPECTORCategory:Romanian terms derived from Latin#INSPECTOR inspector, probably through FrenchCategory:Romanian terms borrowed from French#INSPECTORCategory:Romanian terms derived from French#INSPECTOR inspecteur. Compare Russian инспе́ктор (inspéktor).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inˈspek.tor/Category:Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• Rhymes: -ektorCategory:Rhymes:Romanian/ektor#INSPECTORCategory:Rhymes:Romanian/ektor/3 syllables#INSPECTOR
• Hyphenation: in‧spek‧tor

Noun

inspector m (plural inspectori, feminine equivalent inspectoare)Category:Romanian lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Romanian nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Romanian countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Romanian entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Romanian masculine nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. inspector

   Synonym: (Transylvania) inspicient

See also

• revizor
• supraveghetor

References

• “inspector”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Etymology

Borrowed from LatinCategory:Spanish terms borrowed from Latin#INSPECTORCategory:Spanish terms derived from Latin#INSPECTOR īnspector.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /inspeɡˈtoɾ/ [ĩn.speɣ̞ˈt̪oɾ]Category:Spanish 3-syllable words#INSPECTORCategory:Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation#INSPECTOR
• Rhymes: -oɾCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ#INSPECTORCategory:Rhymes:Spanish/oɾ/3 syllables#INSPECTOR
• Syllabification: in‧spec‧tor

Noun

inspector m (plural inspectores, feminine inspectora, feminine plural inspectoras)Category:Spanish lemmas#INSPECTORCategory:Spanish nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Spanish countable nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Spanish entries with incorrect language header#INSPECTORCategory:Spanish masculine nouns#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with entries#INSPECTORCategory:Pages with 8 entries#INSPECTOR

1. inspector
   • 2025 June 28, Sean Lyngaas, “El cártel de Sinaloa rastreó con un hacker a un funcionario del FBI y mató a posibles informantes, según Gobierno de EE.UU.”, in CNN en Español‎:

     Un cártel de droga mexicano contrató a un hacker para vigilar los movimientos de un alto funcionario del FBI en Ciudad de México en 2018 o incluso antes, recopilando información del sistema de cámaras de la ciudad que permitió al cártel matar a posibles informantes del FBI, según dijo en un nuevo informe el inspector general del Departamento de Justicia.

     A Mexican drug cartel hired a hacker to monitor the movements of a high-ranking FBI official in Mexico City in 2018 or even earlier, gathering information from the city's camera system that allowed the cartel to kill potential FBI informants, according to a new report from the Department of Justice inspector general.

     Category:Spanish terms with quotations#INSPECTOR

Further reading

• “inspector”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025