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Definition of "gumshoe" [gum•shoe]

  • A sneaker or rubber overshoe. (noun)
  • Slang An investigator, especially a detective. (noun)
  • Slang To work as a detective. (verb-intransitive)
  • Slang To move about stealthily; sneak. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "gumshoe" in a sentence
  • "Rome at that time seemed an ideal alternative to the big metropolitan settings of so may 'gumshoe' novels - a huge, dangerous, colourful city that saw itself as the centre of the world."
  • "We have no idea if "gumshoe" is a gender-neutral word but we're keeping it that way."
  • "Ms. WILLIAMS: When I knew to a moral certainty I was probably in my early 30s because back when I started - unfortunately for me, I do not have - the Internet was not available, so therefore it was the old kind of gumshoe hit the pavement, and that's really hard because, you know, when you face somebody, they can shut the door in your face, and it's not as easy to be able to have the information that today we have at our fingertips."