as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the couple paid a gumshoe to look for their missing son
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of gumshoe
Referring to himself with words like spy, detective, gumshoe, Wilbur pulls all kinds of sleuth-like maneuvers to find out ingredients and amounts used in the recipes.
—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
When the populist demagogue Willie Stark orders Burden, journalist turned gumshoe, to dig up dirt on a local judge, Burden demurs; certainly there are no skeletons in the office of the good judge.
—
Brenda Wineapple,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
The show will star Nicolas Cage as a gumshoe version of Spider-Man in an alternate 1930s New York City.
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Feb. 2026
Alas, by then the cheese heiress has skipped the country, and one Mickey Finn later our gumshoe comes to consciousness aboard an eastbound ship on the Atlantic.
—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gumshoe
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
When the populist demagogue Willie Stark orders Burden, journalist turned gumshoe, to dig up dirt on a local judge, Burden demurs; certainly there are no skeletons in the office of the good judge.
—
Brenda Wineapple,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
The show will star Nicolas Cage as a gumshoe version of Spider-Man in an alternate 1930s New York City.
—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Feb. 2026
Alas, by then the cheese heiress has skipped the country, and one Mickey Finn later our gumshoe comes to consciousness aboard an eastbound ship on the Atlantic.
—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gumshoe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gumshoe
Noun
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My dad, a police detective, made sure the Klansman saw his service revolver on his waist.
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Police ask any witnesses who were not contacted by authorities at the scene to contact detectives at (805) 654-9511.
Noun
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Hinds County’s chief death investigator, Jeramiah Howard, attributed her death to the heat.
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Carla Walker cold case The 1974 murder of 17-year-old Carla Walker in Fort Worth, Texas, went unsolved for more than four decades before advanced DNA testing helped investigators identify her killer.
Cite this Entry
“Gumshoe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gumshoe. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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