gumshoe

American  

[guhm-shoo] / ˈgʌmˌʃu /

noun

1. Slang. a detective.

2. a shoe made of gum elastic or India rubber; rubber overshoe.

3. sneaker.

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verb (used without object)

gumshoed, gumshoeing

1. Slang.

   1. to work as a detective.

   2. to go softly, as if wearing rubber shoes; move or act snoopily or stealthily.

gumshoe British  

/ ˈɡʌmˌʃuː /

noun

1. a waterproof overshoe

2. a rubber-soled shoe

3. slang a detective or one who moves about stealthily

4. slang a stealthy action or movement

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verb

1. slang (intr) to act stealthily

Etymology

Origin of gumshoe

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; gum ¹ + shoe

Example Sentences

Belascoarán Shayne stands somewhere on the gumshoe spectrum between Sam Spade and Columbo — but is very much a chilango, or Mexico City native.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2025

Kilpatrick isn’t entirely fresh to the gumshoe storytelling business, having appeared in HBO’s “Perry Mason.”

From Salon • Apr. 2, 2024

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

With Sam Rockwell playing a fedora-wearing gumshoe and Saoirse Ronan as an overeager police constable with an adorable Scottish accent, this looks like one of the most fun comedies of the fall season.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 9, 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

Related Words

• detective
• sleuth