gumshoe
Americannoun
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Slang. a detective.
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a shoe made of gum elastic or India rubber; rubber overshoe.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a waterproof overshoe
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a rubber-soled shoe
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slang a detective or one who moves about stealthily
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slang a stealthy action or movement
verb
Etymology
Origin of gumshoe
Explanation
When you wear gumshoes, you're pulling on waterproof galoshes over your regular footwear. If you are a gumshoe, on the other hand, you're a private detective, investigating a case. The "detective" meaning of this word comes from the "galoshes" definition. In fact, during the late 19th century, gumshoes or gums were any type of rubber-soled shoes. Around the turn of the 20th century, to gumshoe meant "to sneak around," and by 1906, gumshoe became a common nickname for plainclothes detectives (or "private eyes"), famous for moving stealthily in their quiet rubber-soled shoes.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Farrell is terrific, as always, as an empathetic gumshoe investigating a trail of crime and corruption that rings true to devotees of L.A. noir, from Raymond Chandler to “Chinatown” to Jordan Harper.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
But if the musical ever gets a rewrite, I’d suggest bringing the gumshoe on as soon as possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2023
Melling’s scenery-chewing portrayal of the budding writer — and, here, amateur gumshoe — is one of the film’s chief delights.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 3, 2023
The panel does intend on continuing its gumshoe work as long as possible, and is not planning to release its final report until December.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022
In literature and in the popular imagination, the all-seeing private eye—the gumshoe, the cinder dick, the sleuthhound, the shadow—displaced the crusading sheriff as the archetype of rough justice.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Then he gumshoed around the neighborhood and found that Ohman, though uneducated in a formal sense, was a smart man who often expressed an urge to fool the scholars.
From Time Magazine Archive
Today there are spooky gumshoed armies of "security consultants," "rent-a-cops," "private eyes," "outside experts"—every manner of shady operator who retails in "results" and discretion.
From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Bruce Sterling
"Has that grasping old monopolist gumshoed into town again?" inquired Washburn, and promptly ordered his secretary to get Boise on the telephone.
From Five Thousand an Hour : how Johnny Gamble won the heiress by George Randolph Chester
When your trades are newspapering and gumshoeing, you tend to meet interesting people from all walks of life.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 22, 2022
But since last June, when the President authorized a $1,600,000 fund for radio's defense efforts, aerial gumshoeing put on seven-megacycle gum boots, established a special National Defense Operations Section to supplement FCC's routine monitoring work.
From Time Magazine Archive
Before the Gibraltar meeting, Murphy had been gumshoeing through North Africa.
From Time Magazine Archive
Army's most publicized G.I. after his amateur gumshoeing for the late Joe McCarthy, could well beam.
From Time Magazine Archive
Before Tim was out of the building Killen was gumshoeing after him.
From The Vision Splendid by William MacLeod Raine
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
