shamus

noun

sha·​mus ˈshä-məs 

ˈshā-

1

slang : police officer

2

slang : private investigator

Synonyms

• bobby [British]
• bull [slang]
• constable [chiefly British]
• cop
• copper
• flatfoot [slang]
• fuzz
• gendarme
• lawman
• officer
• police officer
• policeman

Examples of shamus in a Sentence

a hard-bitten L.A. shamus who, when he's not battling crooks, is locking horns with his superiors

he's a shamus who mostly finds evidence to use in divorce cases

Recent Examples on the Web

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

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

With Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright back at the creative helm (and The Hollywood Reporter columnist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the writing staff), the season picks up with Veronica (Bell) still working as a shamus in her SoCal hometown of Neptune. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 July 2019

Word History

Etymology

perhaps from Yiddish shames shammes; from a jocular comparison of the duties of a sexton and those of a store detective

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined at sense 1