informer
/ɪnˈfɔːmə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈfɔːrmər/ (ame, ipa) · /in-ˈfȯr-mər/ (ame, mw)
informer — noun
- informersingular
- informersplural
1. someone who quietly passes facts about other people's wrongdoing to law-enforcem
someone who quietly passes facts about other people's wrongdoing to law-enforcement officers or a similar official body, usually for money or to keep themselves out of trouble
The detective met her informer at a quiet café near the train station every Tuesday.
common collocation: meet an informer
Otis was paid a monthly sum to act as a police informer inside the gang.
fixed phrase: police informer
Tax officers rely on informers to report neighbours who run cash-only businesses.
After Karim was jailed, the gang spent months hunting the informer who had betrayed them.
Élise refused to become an informer for the secret police, despite threats to her family.
- informant
more neutral; often used in formal police or research contexts without the negative tone
- snitch
very informal and strongly negative; typically used by criminals about other criminals
- tipster
lighter, often about racing or betting tips; not always about crime
- whistleblower
positive tone; someone who exposes wrongdoing inside an organisation for the public good, not for money
文法句型
informer for [authority]
police informer
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person inside a criminal group, workplace, or community who reports privately to outside authorities; the word carries a negative tone of disloyalty.