suspect
n. countablen. a person who the police think might have committed a crime. This person has not been proven guilty yet.
n. a person under consideration as the possible perpetrator of an offence or crime. Often used in legal and investigative contexts to denote an individual who is the subject of official inquiry but has not been charged.
The police are questioning a suspect in the robbery case.
Detectives identified a primary suspect after reviewing security footage from the night of the break-in.
While the evidence against the initial suspect appeared compelling, forensic analysis eventually cleared him of all charges and shifted the focus of the investigation elsewhere.
From Old French suspect, from Latin suspectus, perfect passive participle of suspiciō (“mistrust, suspect”), from sub (“under”), + speciō (“watch, look at”).
Commonly used with the verbs 'identify', 'question', or 'detain'.
The police suspected a manThe police have a suspectLearners often confuse the verb 'suspect' (to believe someone is guilty) with the noun 'suspect' (the person being investigated).