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
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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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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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In 1935, Qassam and two of his followers ambushed a group of British Mandate policemen, murdering a Jewish sergeant.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The policeman asked where the shell was.—
Jim Clash,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Scott, McDonald and Neary were arrested, but Rackauckas and a Fullerton police detective persuaded Neary to testify against the other two men, according to the motion.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
17 Sep. 2025
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Reigle and her team tested about a dozen formulations and viscosities, playing detective to figure out where a whole host of issues was coming from.—
Megan McIntyre,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Another twist is that the roadside tests that cops use to spot drunk drivers don’t work as well for drug impairment.—
Andrew Yockey,
The Conversation,
11 Sep. 2025
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Lellouche stars as unlikely hero Zem, a disillusioned Zone 3 cop with an idealistic militant past, who is teamed with haughty, high-flying Zone 2 officer Salia, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, after a leading politician is assassinated in Zone 1.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Boelter’s motivation remains unclear, but investigators found a one-and-a-half-page letter, described as rambling and difficult to read, that was ascribed to him.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Sep. 2025
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One of the main enforcers of H-2A rules, the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, last year had one of the lowest levels of investigators since the H-2A program was launched in the 1980s, Rutgers University researchers found.—
Max Blau,
ProPublica,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images OpenAI has hired Mike Liberatore, former finance chief at Elon Musk's xAI, to be the artificial intelligence startup's business finance officer, responsible for overseeing its massive infrastructure spending.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
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According to police, 26 officers were injured during the demonstration in London and at least 25 arrests were made.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In a news conference on Tuesday evening, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed a 59-year-old detective, and a 35-year-old senior constable had been fatally shot, and another detective was seriously injured and being treated in hospital.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
26 Aug. 2025
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When authorities arrived at the residence, the constable's office said in a statement that Bryan had unsuccessfully attempted to flee out of a window.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shamus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamus. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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