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 the Old Norse word slōth, the term referred to the track of an animal or person. In Scotland, sleuth hund referred to a kind of bloodhound used to hunt game or track down fugitives from justice. In 19th-century U.S. English, sleuthhound, soon shortened to sleuth, began to be used for a detective. From there, sleuth slipped into verb use to apply to what a sleuth does.

Synonyms

Noun

• detective
• investigator

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

The Adelsons’ involvement in the murder case’s tangled web has riveted those in the state capital — and thousands of internet true crime sleuths — for nearly a decade. —Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2025

The anime film follows an amateur sleuth with a penchant for the paranormal, who travels to the deep south to solve a string of murders that have awakened a vengeful Boo Hag spirit seeking justice. —Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025

Verb

The hours of sleuthing the world’s largest online retailer for its Prime Day deals under $100 has finally paid off. —Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 8 Oct. 2025

Much to the frustration of sleuthing fans, Sherman-Palladino has continued to defend the miniseries’ ending, saying her concern wasn’t with the goings on of any of the aforementioned men. —Claire Franken, TVLine, 6 Oct. 2025

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

Rhymes for sleuth

• luth
• muth
• sooth
• tooth
• youth
• bluetooth
• forsooth
• sawtooth
• tolbooth
• uncouth
• untruth
• vermouth

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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.