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
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
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
Wired, 1 Nov. 2019
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shamus
Noun
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He’s used to having headwinds at every turn, but the stakes are so high knowing what can happen to a policeman in prison.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
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These ideas are laid out early in the first act, when an encounter between a policeman, Olim, and a fruit-stand thief, Severin, is presented to the audience.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Maybe archaeologists and detectives are not so different.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Oct. 2025
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Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call state police detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney's Office at 508-832-9124 or Gardner police at 978-632-5600.—
Michael Ruiz , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If a deal makes, Jordan will play Ricardo Tubbs, one half of the famous cop duo known as Crockett & Tubbs.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Oct. 2025
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Read, who was acquitted earlier this year of the Boston cop’s murder, is being sued for her boyfriend’s death.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Less than 24 hours later, investigators say Lauren Spors beat her mother to death with a rock.—
David Clarey,
jsonline.com,
27 Oct. 2025
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Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in an October 26 statement that investigators made the arrests the previous evening.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The measure would provide $45 billion to expand ICE’s detention capacity to nearly 100,000 beds, $14 billion for transportation and removal operations and $8 billion to hire 10,000 new deportation officers.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
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Indeed, my former agency the NGA is charged with both making maps (the job of explorers) and uncovering what’s really going on in those places (the job of intelligence officers).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Kamal says the constables accused him of forging them and detained him.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
11 Oct. 2025
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Randles plays Elle Hardy, a senior constable assigned to reinvestigating the case.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shamus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shamus. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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