Synonyms of shamus

shamus

noun

ˈshä-məs 

slang

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

• policeman
• cop
• officer
• constable
• sheriff
• lawman
• copper
• detective
• bobby
• police officer
• flatfoot
• gendarme
• fuzz
• investigator
• bull
• inspector
• police
• constabulary
• sleuth
• patrolman
• trooper
• sergeant
• policewoman
• gumshoe
• marshall
• dick
• marshal
• lieutenant
• peace officer
• operative
• sherlock
• man
• police force
• plainclothesman
• sleuthhound
• captain
• hawkshaw
• private detective
• private eye
• private investigator
• heat

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• civilian

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

• detective
• investigator
• gumshoe
• sleuth
• dick
• operative
• private detective
• private eye
• private investigator
• sherlock
• sleuthhound
• hawkshaw
• tracer
• tracker
• tail
• nark
• Federal
• narc
• fed
• G-man
• shadow
• plainclothesman

Examples of shamus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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