plainclothesman

or plain·clothes man

[ pleyn-klohz-muhn, -man, -klohthz- ]

noun

, plural plain·clothes·men [pleyn, -, klohz, -m, uh, n, -men, -, klohthz, -].

1. a police officer, especially a detective, who wears ordinary civilian clothes while on duty.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plainclothesman¹

First recorded in 1925–30; plain clothes + man

Example Sentences

Yes, plainclothesman, wearing black hats; one of them had one of those Texas hats.

From Project Gutenberg

Were they with some policeman as they came out of the building or in custody of some plainclothesman?

From Project Gutenberg

She smiled in silent gratitude and allowed the plainclothesman to lead her away from that chamber of horror.

From Project Gutenberg

The other plainclothesman came up to Sergeant Ketzel and Bending as they entered.

From Project Gutenberg

He lingered, but the plainclothesman was staring at the innocent, inviolable parcels about to leave the Embassy for distant parts.

From Project Gutenberg