I. sus ‧ pect 1 S2 W3 /səˈspekt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive not in progressive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ suspect , ↑ suspected , ↑ unsuspecting , ↑ suspicious ; noun : ↑ suspect , ↑ suspicion ; verb : ↑ suspect ; adverb : ↑ suspiciously ]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: suspectare , from the past participle of suspicere 'to look up at, admire, distrust' , from sub- 'up, secretly' + specere 'to look at' ]
1 . to think that something is probably true, especially something bad
suspect (that)
I suspected that there was something wrong with the engine.
She strongly suspected he was lying to her.
She’s not going to be very happy about this, I suspect.
2 . to think that something bad has happened or is happening:
The doctors suspected pneumonia.
suspect murder/foul play
The position of the body led the police to suspect murder.
suspect something/nothing/anything
He never suspected anything.
3 . to think that someone is probably guilty of a crime:
Who do you suspect?
suspect somebody of (doing) something
He’s suspected of murder.
Pilcher was suspected of giving away government secrets to the enemy.
4 . to think that something is not honest or true:
I began to suspect his motives in inviting me.
II. sus ‧ pect 2 /ˈsʌspekt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ suspect , ↑ suspected , ↑ unsuspecting , ↑ suspicious ; noun : ↑ suspect , ↑ suspicion ; verb : ↑ suspect ; adverb : ↑ suspiciously ]
1 . someone who is thought to be guilty of a crime:
Two suspects were arrested today in connection with the robbery.
Police have issued a description of the murder suspect.
suspect for
the two suspects for the robbery
suspect in
a suspect in a burglary case
main/prime/chief suspect
Davies is still the chief suspect.
2 . the usual suspects the people or things that are usually involved in or responsible for a particular activity:
a wine shop stocking all the usual suspects: wines from California, France, Australia
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + suspect
▪ the prime/chief/main suspect
She didn’t realise he was the prime suspect in a murder case.
▪ the number one suspect (=the main suspect)
I was the one who found her. And that makes me the number one suspect for her murder.
▪ a murder/burglary etc suspect
The murder suspect is described as in his early 20s, wearing a baseball type cap and a dark jacket.
▪ a possible suspect
Thr police drew up a list of possible subjects.
■ verbs
▪ arrest/detain a suspect
Detectives arrested the suspect after a five-day undercover operation.
▪ question/interrogate/interview a suspect
Police confirmed that six suspects are being questioned.
III. suspect 3 BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ suspect , ↑ suspected , ↑ unsuspecting , ↑ suspicious ; noun : ↑ suspect , ↑ suspicion ; verb : ↑ suspect ; adverb : ↑ suspiciously ]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin , past participle of suspicere ; ⇨ ↑ suspect 1 ]
1 . not likely to be completely honest SYN dodgy :
I’ve always thought he was a bit of a suspect character.
The company was involved in some highly suspect business dealings.
2 . not likely to be completely true:
The two men were convicted on the basis of some highly suspect evidence.
3 . likely to have problems and not work well:
The engine sounded a bit suspect.
4 . [only before noun] likely to contain a bomb or something illegal or dangerous:
Police were called in to check out a suspect van.