Synonyms of gumshoe

gumshoe

noun

ˈgəm-ˌshü 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• detective
• investigator
• sleuth
• operative
• dick
• shamus
• private detective
• private eye
• private investigator
• sherlock
• hawkshaw
• tracer
• sleuthhound
• tracker
• tail
• Federal
• narc
• G-man
• plainclothesman
• shadow
• fed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of gumshoe

Cage plays Ben Reilly, a gumshoe struggling to remain afloat in New York City in the Great Depression. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026

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