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.

Belascoarán Shayne stands somewhere on the gumshoe spectrum between Sam Spade and Columbo — but is very much a chilango, or Mexico City native.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2025

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

With Sam Rockwell playing a fedora-wearing gumshoe and Saoirse Ronan as an overeager police constable with an adorable Scottish accent, this looks like one of the most fun comedies of the fall season.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 9, 2022

In many ways, Mickey is a throwback to a classic gumshoe, though he's in front of the jury box.

From Salon • May 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