Meaning & use
Shamus
Last updated
An informal American term for a private detective or investigator.
See it in a sentence
The shamus tailed the suspect for three blocks before losing him in traffic.
Old detective novels are full of world-weary shamuses solving cases in smoky offices.
A note on using this word
Popularized by American hardboiled detective fiction of the 1920s-1940s; likely derived from the Irish name Seamus, though its exact origin is debated.
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