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
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Bush came to office determined not to act as the global policeman.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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Plaza plays a cop who Qualley has a passionate love affair with until things turn sour.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
27 May 2025
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Here, cops can decompress after a stressful event or take a brief time-out during a draining shift.—
Katja Ridderbusch,
NPR,
26 May 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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Related Articles Nielsen, Verisk and Accenture alum Laurie Lovett is Sol de Janeiro’s new chief people and impact officer.—
Noor Lobad,
Footwear News,
27 May 2025
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Ukrainian fighter jets have struck a base belonging to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Belgorod region, killing intelligence officers, according to a report.—
Isabel van Brugen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 May 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 11 Jun. 2025.
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