as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
the popular TV sleuth lives a much more action-packed life than do his real-world counterparts
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sleuth
Hero Fiennes Tiffin stars as the defiant sleuth who is framed for murder and gets involved in a global conspiracy that alters the course of his life.
—
Katie Campione, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Seven strangers stranded in a snowstorm at Monkswell Manor all become suspects, and sleuths, when a local woman is murdered.
—Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register, 4 Feb. 2026
In Short’s case, the flattening is particularly egregious, because the inchoate facts of her life are shoehorned into the obsessions of amateur sleuths who continue to get those facts wrong.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Internet sleuths noticed Baldoni had not posed for photos with Lively on the red carpet.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sleuth
Katie Campione, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026
Seven strangers stranded in a snowstorm at Monkswell Manor all become suspects, and sleuths, when a local woman is murdered.
—Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register, 4 Feb. 2026
In Short’s case, the flattening is particularly egregious, because the inchoate facts of her life are shoehorned into the obsessions of amateur sleuths who continue to get those facts wrong.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Internet sleuths noticed Baldoni had not posed for photos with Lively on the red carpet.
—Uwa Ede-Osifo, Dallas Morning News, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sleuth
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sleuth
Noun
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The lead detective investigating the murder of University of Miami football star Bryan Pata, testifying in court Tuesday, said cell phone records placed Pata’s former teammate near the Kendall murder scene and a UM professor picked him out of photo lineup.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
24 Feb. 2026
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She’s worked in the county in a variety of roles, like as a detective, a crime scene evidence technician and a field training officer.—
Molly Morrow,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The sheriff's office confirmed investigators are looking into investigative genetic genealogy, a relatively new forensic tool made possible by the rise in popularity of consumer genetic testing, where people can send their DNA to find out about their ancestry and locate potential relatives.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
22 Feb. 2026
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The defense attorney has told the judge that Dratman and Fischer failed to call up a witness who gave investigators an alibi for Serafini on the day his wife’s parents were shot.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sleuth.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sleuth. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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