1
as in policeman
a member of a force charged with law enforcement at the local level
a hard-bitten L.A. shamus who, when he's not battling crooks, is locking horns with his superiors
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in detective
a person not on the police force who investigates criminal or illicit activity or searches for missing persons
he's a shamus who mostly finds evidence to use in divorce cases
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shamus
When the franchise was rejuvenated in 2000 with Samuel L. Jackson starring as the nephew of the famed shamus, Roundtree appeared as his uncle.
—
Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard was one in a long line of LA shamuses tripped up by wealth and beauty, from Marlowe and Gittes to Rawlins and Bosch.
—Wired, 1 Nov. 2019
With Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright back at the creative helm (and The Hollywood Reporter columnist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the writing staff), the season picks up with Veronica (Bell) still working as a shamus in her SoCal hometown of Neptune.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 July 2019
Chris Koseluk, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard was one in a long line of LA shamuses tripped up by wealth and beauty, from Marlowe and Gittes to Rawlins and Bosch.
—Wired, 1 Nov. 2019
With Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright back at the creative helm (and The Hollywood Reporter columnist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the writing staff), the season picks up with Veronica (Bell) still working as a shamus in her SoCal hometown of Neptune.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shamus
Noun
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The Snitch and played a sympathetic policeman in the alien drama Glitch.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
-
Bush came to office determined not to act as the global policeman.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
Noun
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Last week, prosecutors called their final witness, the Chicago police detective who was the lead investigator in the case.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2025
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While genre fiction steadily advances onto bestseller lists, realism soldiers on, amid cyborgs and dragons and boozy detectives.—
Hamilton Cain,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
Noun
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And seriously, when the cops are agreeing there’s no riot — there is no riot.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2025
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The crook ripped the chain from the boy’s neck and kept going, speeding off north on Marion Ave., cops said.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
8 June 2025
Noun
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Sacramento police investigators are still working to determine how the 36-year-old mother of four became fatally pinned between her sport utility vehicle and another car in a shopping center’s parking lot on Rush River Drive in Sacramento’s Pocket neighborhood Tuesday evening.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
5 June 2025
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But the claim started to unravel as investigators talked to Morales Reyes, who doesn’t speak English fluently, and obtained a handwriting sample from him that was different from the handwriting in the letters, according to court documents.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Immigration officers in March raided a metal business in unincorporated El Cajon that contracts with the federal government.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2025
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Hundreds of law enforcement officers at the local, state and federal level spent nearly two weeks searching for Hardin, using dogs, drones and aircraft, at times hampered by severe weather.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
8 June 2025
Noun
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The victim went back to the police six months later, and local detective constable, Mike Smith, led an investigation into what exactly occurred.—
Becca Longmire,
People.com,
13 May 2025
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Law enforcement agencies would have to create department files on any employee holding a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement license, which includes police, sheriff’s deputies, constables, corrections officers and others.—
Cody Copeland,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
16 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shamus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamus. Accessed 14 Jun. 2025.
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