Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A sneaker or rubber overshoe.
- noun Slang An investigator, especially a detective.
- intransitive verb To work as a detective.
- intransitive verb To move about stealthily; sneak.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A shoe made of gum, that is, india-rubber; a rubber overshoe.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun slang A detective; a private eye.
- noun A shoe made of rubber, as a rubber overshoe.
- noun A sneaker{3}.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
sneaker orrubber overshoe . - noun slang A
detective .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun someone who is a detective
- noun a waterproof overshoe that protects shoes from water or snow
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word gumshoe.
Examples
-
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.
Kevin Smokler: The Shelf Talker: Arugula, Poetry, and New Best Friends 2009
-
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.
-
The past haunts the present in this wonderful mystery novel featuring Kate Atikinson's regular English "gumshoe," Jackson Brodie, in pursuit of an ex-cop who has run off with an endangered child.
-
Orth told CNN, “In the end, (authorities) reverted to the old gumshoe thing of a stakeout.”
-
The creator of Philip Marlowe, LA's greatest gumshoe, wanted to be a comparative philologist!
Rewind radio: One block in Harlem; A coat, a Hat and a Gun; Seeksmusic.com | review 2011
-
Reading detective fiction and being able to converse about it at length over an extended period of time were undoubtedly what got me moving in that direction, because in my personal life Ive never been much of a gumshoe or very tough at all.
-
The classic gumshoe archetype—the hard-drinking, jaded loner with emotional baggage and shrewd instincts—didn't change.
The (Really) Long Goodbye Alexandra Alter 2011
-
After a bit of gumshoe work, the wallet is reunited with Resta.
Prolagus commented on the word gumshoe
The word gumshoe can be used as an intransitive verb, meaning to work as a detective, but more commonly gumshoe refers to the investigators themselves. While the etymology is a little murky, the term most likely refers to the new soft-soled gum that replaced leather on some shoes in the late 19th century. The soft rubber shoes, precursors to sneakers, sounded quiet on the pavement, allowing the wearer to sneak (get it?) around.
(Read here)
October 8, 2009