1
as in policeman
a member of a force charged with law enforcement at the local level
a hard-bitten L.A. shamus who, when he's not battling crooks, is locking horns with his superiors
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
he's a shamus who mostly finds evidence to use in divorce cases
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of shamus
Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard was one in a long line of LA shamuses tripped up by wealth and beauty, from Marlowe and Gittes to Rawlins and Bosch.
—
Wired, 1 Nov. 2019
When the franchise was rejuvenated in 2000 with Samuel L. Jackson starring as the nephew of the famed shamus, Roundtree appeared as his uncle.
—Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Wired, 1 Nov. 2019
When the franchise was rejuvenated in 2000 with Samuel L. Jackson starring as the nephew of the famed shamus, Roundtree appeared as his uncle.
—Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shamus
Noun
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Otacilio de Souza Ferraz was a military policeman from Recife and was called upon as part of the security team 57 years ago.—
Simon Perry,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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When his second-in-command finds love and wants to get out of the criminal life, things get bad for Tee Yai, but when a newly motivated policeman dedicates himself to catching him no matter what the cost, things get really wild.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Homicide detectives deemed the death suspicious and began investigating.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
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The show is also adding Ashley Walters, who earned an Emmy nomination for his incredible turn playing the lead detective in Netflix’s Adolescence.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The city was going bankrupt, the cops were on strike, and a fire had wiped out telephone service in my part of the East Side.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Nov. 2025
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Those movies sent up buddy-cop films and alien-invasion flicks by way of a distinctly British perspective (there were plenty of droll asides to go along with the action scenes).—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Instead, the Kennedy focuses on the stark reality of a man fighting to protect himself and his family from Santa Fe prosecutors and investigators, who in the doc, seem driven less by the facts than by their interest in putting Baldwin on trial for his polarizing public persona.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2025
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This allowed investigators to collect DNA, which led them to the teen, Scott said.—
Cameron Knight,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Yehuda Shmidman, chief executive officer of WHP Global, and Wang spoke on a panel at the WWD Apparel and Retail CEO Summit, moderated by Amanda Smith, chief executive officer of Fairchild Media Group.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
10 Nov. 2025
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In September, Apollo launched its new sports fund led by CEO Al Tylis, co-portfolio managers Rob Givone and Lee Solomon, and chief strategy officer Sam Porter.—
Kurt Badenhausen,
Sportico.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Kamal says the constables accused him of forging them and detained him.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
11 Oct. 2025
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Randles plays Elle Hardy, a senior constable assigned to reinvestigating the case.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shamus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamus. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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