sleuth

1 of 2

noun

ˈslüth 

: detective

sleuth

2 of 2

verb

sleuthed; sleuthing; sleuths

intransitive verb

: to act as a detective : search for information

transitive verb

: to search for and discover

Did you know?

"They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!" Those canine tracks in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles set the great Sherlock Holmes sleuthing on the trail of a murderer. It was a case of art imitating etymology. When Middle English speakers first borrowed sleuth from Old Norse, the term referred to "the track of an animal or person." In Scotland, sleuthhound referred to a bloodhound used to hunt game or track down fugitives from justice. In 19th-century U.S. English, sleuthhound became an epithet for a detective and was soon shortened to sleuth. From there, it was only a short leap to turning sleuth into a verb describing what a sleuth does.

Synonyms

Noun

• detective
• dick
• gumshoe
• hawkshaw
• investigator
• operative
• private detective
• private eye
• private investigator
• shamus [slang]
• sherlock
• sleuthhound

Examples of sleuth in a Sentence

Noun

the popular TV sleuth lives a much more action-packed life than do his real-world counterparts

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

My sleuth side sees dreams as not a mere escape from the logic or hardships or realities of the day but rather a world in the making. —Jenny Boully, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2024

The internet’s fame sleuths, however, are not easily deterred. —Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024

But despite the company’s attempts to defuse the situation, sleuths continued, forcing Ventusky to try to prove their point once more. —Greg Wehner, Fox News, 14 Apr. 2024

Well, internet sleuths now believe Kate’s absence may be linked to her husband and future King of England, William, having an affair. —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2024

But the manipulated photo has given those theories mass market appeal, with aspiring influencers appointing themselves photoshop sleuths to carry out audits of everything released by the royal family. —Alexander Smith, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024

These internet sleuths hope to answer many questions, some which sound pretty far-fetched. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024

That sin of omission has given online sleuths room to continue speculating about the bizarre circumstances around the image. —Reece Rogers, WIRED, 12 Mar. 2024

Rohrwacher’s movie abounds in mysteries, and her central sleuth is something of an enigma himself, not least because of the actor playing him. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024

Verb

Experts have previously told NBC News that the desire to sleuth, which has become commonplace on the internet, is a symptom of the internet’s obsession with true crime and its desire to engage in gossip. —Angela Yang, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024

Instead, get a little bit more creative by sleuthing vintage shops, swap markets, and antique shows to purchase one-of-a-kind and eclectic furniture and decor items that will compliment your home and expand your world point of view. —Dominique Fluker, Essence, 8 Dec. 2023

This season, shopping fall’s biggest shoe trends don’t mean skipping the sales—our shopping editors have sleuthed in-seasonal scores as part of Amazon Prime Day shoe deals. —Maia Torres, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2023

To parse writing, AI models sleuth through textual clues, such as word choices, to see their connections. —Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Scientific American, 21 Apr. 2023

In 1994, The New Republic sent him on assignment to Little Rock, Arkansas, to sleuth around the financial paper trail known as Whitewater. —Jonathan Lethem, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023

One redditor sleuthed that The Afterparty season three is already in the works, according to an Instagram story posted by writer Katie Miller. —Town & Country, 2 Aug. 2023

Two button clicks later, the usage type was corrected; part — but not all — of that was a dishwasher cycle, while the rest remains to be sleuthed out. —Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2023

Over a five-year research period, the pair, along with curatorial assistant in Latino art and history Carolina Maestre, selected and sleuthed out 94 objects for the show after making visits to 74 collections around the world. —Maya Wei-Haas, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for sleuthhound

First Known Use

Noun

1872, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1900, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

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Kids Definition

sleuth

1 of 2 noun

ˈslüth 

: detective entry 2

sleuth

2 of 2 verb

: to act as a detective

Etymology

Noun

a shortened form of sleuthhound "a dog that follows a track or trail by scent," from Middle English sleuth "a track or trail"; of Norse origin

Word Origin

In Middle English the word sleuth meant "the track or trail left by an animal or person." After the 15th century sleuth was seldom used except in such words as sleuth-dog and sleuthhound. These were terms for a dog trained to follow a track or trail. The sleuthhound became well known for its eager and thorough pursuit of an object. Later the word sleuthhound came to be used for a "detective." The modern word sleuth first came into use as a shortened form of sleuthhound.