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
Io is a world-weary gumshoe who can see all the threads that bind mortals to their fates and uses this unusual perception to solve mysteries and crimes.
—
John Wiswell, People.com, 3 July 2025
The platform that made a gumshoe as flimsy as Benoit Blanc the center of his own franchise owes her all that and more.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
Greenspan’s elastic voice and ceaselessly expressive hands also turn him into Ulysses—a church organist from the Faulkner south whose fanatical devotion to Theda led him, like Iras, straight to her door—and into Detective Finale, Iras’s gumshoe father who’s on the case of their disappearance.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024
Welcome back, Charlie Cale. Natasha Lyonne is back as TV’s favorite gumshoe detective in the first teaser for Poker Face season two, and the footage teases the roster of high-wattage guest stars who have been brought in to play in Charlie’s murder mystery sandbox when the series returns.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for gumshoe
John Wiswell, People.com, 3 July 2025
The platform that made a gumshoe as flimsy as Benoit Blanc the center of his own franchise owes her all that and more.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
Greenspan’s elastic voice and ceaselessly expressive hands also turn him into Ulysses—a church organist from the Faulkner south whose fanatical devotion to Theda led him, like Iras, straight to her door—and into Detective Finale, Iras’s gumshoe father who’s on the case of their disappearance.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024
Welcome back, Charlie Cale. Natasha Lyonne is back as TV’s favorite gumshoe detective in the first teaser for Poker Face season two, and the footage teases the roster of high-wattage guest stars who have been brought in to play in Charlie’s murder mystery sandbox when the series returns.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for gumshoe
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gumshoe
Noun
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Anyone with information regarding the man’s death can contact homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or the anonymous TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
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This time, police taped off the house and questioned Sutton-Schulman for two hours until a detective got a call from the hospital confirming that L had attempted suicide in the woods behind the house.—
Duaa Eldeib,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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After witnessing Nillo driving erratically after leaving the commissioner’s apartment building, investigators stopped her and seized the vehicle.—
Joey Flechas,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
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This suspect has now been stopped in his tracks because of the diligent and tenacious work done by investigators at both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gumshoe.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gumshoe. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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