sherlocks

noun

plural of sherlock
as in detectives
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons one of literature's most eccentric sherlocks, Nero Wolfe manages to solve mysteries without so much as leaving the confines of his own home

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sherlocks
  1. detectives
  2. investigators
  3. private detectives
Noun
  • Farinacci often spent days and even weeks scouting potential fire locations, monitoring weather and wildfire data, and planning to set multiple fires to stretch firefighting resources thin, according to detectives.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detectives have launched an investigation after a man was found dead in Santa Clarita on Sunday morning.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of detectives
Noun
  • But Davis’s book is part of a flurry of statements and interviews that, investigators say, taken together amount to an admission he was involved in the murder.
    — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The boyfriend of a 2-year-old boy's mother is facing felony charges after investigators accused him of hiding the child's body in the woods behind a Marietta apartment complex and lying to police.
    — CBS News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of investigators
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
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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sherlock
sherlocks
sheugh
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Cite this Entry

“Sherlocks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sherlocks. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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