shamuses

noun

plural of shamus, slang
1
as in policemen
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in detectives
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shamuses
  1. policemen
  2. detectives
  3. officers
  4. investigators
  5. cops
  6. private detectives
  7. constables
  8. private investigators
Noun
  • People began rioting in Los Angeles’ predominantly Black Watts neighborhood after a crowd watched White policemen forcefully subdue a Black man.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 28 July 2026
  • Over the weekend, dozens of plain-clothes policemen entered the protest site and dragged Wangchuk into an ambulance.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 July 2026
Definition of policemen
Noun
  • Harrison Area detectives were investigating the shooting Sunday morning.
    — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Giordano said Vasquez and Felix were arrested on Saturday after being interviewed for the first time by detectives about the incident.
    — Tristan Maglunog, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of detectives
Noun
  • The victim, who hasn't been publicly identified, was treated at the scene by Santa Monica PD officers until paramedics took him to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Within three minutes of arriving, the officers had killed the attacker.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of officers
Noun
  • Meanwhile, investigators continue to run lab analyses on DNA found at her home as the desperate search for Guthrie continues.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The investigators had named a deputy head of the presidential office among the suspects in a money-laundering case.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of investigators
Noun
  • In the years since Shakur’s murder, what exactly happened in that hail of bullets -- and who pulled the trigger -- was obscured by a lack of physical evidence, feuding cops and the gangland code of silence.
    — Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • He was pulled over by the cops after his honeypot encounter with Alice, but talked his way out of a DWI and is still on the street.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of cops
Noun
  • Meanwhile, private detectives probed Hadley’s vulnerabilities as a witness.
    — Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • The trio took the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles as part of a PaleyFest event commemorating five decades of Charlie's Angels, the groundbreaking ABC series that followed a group of female private detectives.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Apr. 2026
Definition of private detectives
Noun
  • The woman was able to flee the scene and located deputy constables.
    — Adam England, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
  • Troopers and Beacon Falls constables responded to the home and detained Drozdowski, state police said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2026
Definition of constables
Noun
  • In an interview with a neighbor, the private investigators learned that there was a cargo van outside the house at the time.
    — Jeremy Greenberg, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Priestley and Sampson are reprising their roles as private investigators Matt Shade and Angie Everett.
    — Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of private investigators
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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shamus
shamuses
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Cite this Entry

“Shamuses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamuses. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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