TEC
n. countable C2 Proficiency US //ˈtɛk// tec
n. a slang word for a detective. It is a short way of saying 'detective' that you might hear in old crime movies or read in books.
n. a colloquial or slang term for a detective. Derived as a clipping of 'detective', it is primarily found in mid-20th-century hardboiled fiction and noir cinema.
The private tec followed the suspect through the rain.
He hired a local tec to find out who had been sending the anonymous letters to his office.
While modern police procedurals focus on forensic science, the classic noir novel often centers on a lone tec navigating the city's corrupt underbelly with nothing but a trench coat and a hunch.
Usage
Informal and somewhat dated; typically used in the context of crime fiction or historical slang.