Meaning of suspect In English

• 0 to think or believe something to be true or probable:

  • So far, the police do not suspect foul play.

  • [ + (that) ] We had no reason to suspect (that) he might try to kill himself.

  • "Do you think she'll have told them?" "I suspect not/so."

• 1 to think that someone has committed a crime or done something wrong:

  • No one knows who killed her, but the police suspect her husband.

  • The police suspect him of carrying out two bomb attacks.

  • Three suspected terrorists have been arrested.

• 2 to not trust; to doubt:

  • I have no reason to suspect her honesty/loyalty.

  • We suspected his motives in making his offer.

• 3 a person believed to have committed a crime or done something wrong, or something believed to have caused something bad:

  • Police have issued a photograph of the suspect.

  • The prime suspect in the case committed suicide.

  • No one knows what caused the outbreak of food poisoning, but shellfish is the main suspect (= is thought to have caused it).

• 4 possibly false or dangerous:

  • The study was carried out with such a small sample that its results are suspect.

  • A suspect parcel was found at the station.

• 5 to think or believe something is likely:

  • Medical investigators suspect the outbreak was caused by bacteria in the water supply.

• 6 to think or believe that someone is guilty of something:

  • Authorities have the power to evict residents when they suspect criminal activity.

• 7 to doubt or not believe in something:

  • There is no reason to suspect their loyalty.

• 8 a person who is believed to be guilty of something:

  • After the robbery, the usual suspects were rounded up.

• 9 not able to be trusted; possibly false or dangerous:

  • I can’t understand why my reasons seem suspect to a number of people.

• 10 to believe that something, usually something bad, may be true or may have happened:

  • suspect that The bank suspects that fraud has occurred.

  • suspect fraud/dishonesty/foul play

• 11 to believe that someone is guilty of committing a crime:

  • suspect sb/sth of doing sth The company was suspected of paying bribes to Army officers to secure contracts.

• 12 someone who police, employers, or other authorities believe has committed a crime:

  • a chief/key/prime suspect

• 13 if something is suspect, it seems likely to be dishonest, dangerous, criminal, etc.:

  • The Financial Services Authority is cracking down on banks and brokers that have failed to report suspect deals by clients.

  • Bomb disposal experts destroyed a suspect package found at the airport.