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• sherlock
  sherlock

  noun

  a private detective.
• Sherlock
  Sherlock

  noun

  a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “fair-haired.”

sherlock

¹ American  

[shur-lok] / ˈʃɜr lɒk /

Or Sherlock

noun

Informal.

1. a private detective.

2. a person remarkably adept at solving mysteries, especially by using insight and logical deduction.

   Who's the sherlock who can tell me where my pen is?

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Sherlock ² American  

[shur-lok] / ˈʃɜr lɒk /

noun

1. a male given name: from an Old English word meaning “fair-haired.”

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Etymology

Origin of sherlock

After Sherlock Holmes, fictitious detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sherlock Sherlock

Topics: , sherlock, BBC, Greece, Memory Techniques, , This article originally appeared on .

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2014

But if the plainclothes nose around, are they going to sherlock the parish priest and the town bughunter?

From Slippy McGee, Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man by Marie Conway Oemler

The researchers demonstrated that the ousiometer can analyze material from remarkably different sources, including Jane Austen's novels, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, the New York Times, Wikipedia, Twitter, and transcripts of talk radio programs.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

"Watching me in this castle must be like watching Sherlock at work."

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

“She told me she had completely cut off her mom,” says Sherlock, 29, a certified public accountant in Lakeville, Minn. “And that she had wasted all of her 30s on a man.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

Sherlock Xia of law firm Yenlex said that China's move had sent a "clear signal" that attempting to shed Chinese identity through overseas relocation was no longer viable.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

“Come on, boy,” I whisper to Sherlock, and make a sly exit out the side door of the garage.

From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

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