gumshoe

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 cops are jaded and too easily steered toward the wrong suspects, moving the gentle citizen gumshoe to step in and offer her gifted expertise.

From Salon • Jun. 16, 2026

But if the musical ever gets a rewrite, I’d suggest bringing the gumshoe on as soon as possible.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2023

Melling’s scenery-chewing portrayal of the budding writer — and, here, amateur gumshoe — is one of the film’s chief delights.

From Washington Post • Jan. 3, 2023

The panel does intend on continuing its gumshoe work as long as possible, and is not planning to release its final report until December.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2022

In literature and in the popular imagination, the all-seeing private eye—the gumshoe, the cinder dick, the sleuthhound, the shadow—displaced the crusading sheriff as the archetype of rough justice.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann