plainclothesman

American

[pleyn-klohz-muhn, -man, -klohthz-] / ˈpleɪnˈkloʊz mən, -ˌmæn, -ˈkloʊðz- /

Or plainclothes man

noun

PLURAL

plainclothesmen

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

Etymology

Origin of plainclothesman

First recorded in 1925–30; plain clothes + man

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.

The plainclothesman in front of her flashed a badge, showed a search warrant, and brusquely asked Mary for permission to enter.

From Literature

Anyone could see Garner talking to a clutch of uniformed and plainclothesmen in front of a store on Bay Street, in Staten Island, on July 17th.

From The New Yorker

A video filmed by TVB, a usually pro-government television station, showed a bearded man in a black T-shirt being led away by plainclothesman, his hands behind him.

From New York Times

“The only people we get in here at night anymore is plainclothesmen,” Darlene said.

From Literature

A squad of plainclothesmen that happened to be nearby was ordered to respond to the call.

From US News

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023