gumshoes

plural of gumshoe
as in detectives
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of gumshoes It’s been a decent summer so far for plucky British gumshoes. Tomris Laffly, Variety, 30 June 2026 Chris Columbus, director of Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter films, helms the comedic caper, which follows an amiable gang of gumshoes who spend their golden years investigating cold cases. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gumshoes
Noun
  • Police said homicide detectives were called to the scene and a person of interest was detained.
    Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Psychiatrists need to be good detectives during the entire process, even after a patient is on a medicine.
    Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Rogue OpenAI agents’ unprecedented coordination during the Hugging Face attack significantly increases the risk of AI escaping human control, analysts said, days after investigators released a bombshell report into the incident.
    Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Because one of the boy's family members had measles, investigators tested the boy's lung tissue and found evidence of measles infection, Diamantoni said.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Gumshoes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gumshoes. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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