shamus

[ shah-muhs, shey- ]
See synonyms for shamus on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural sha·mus·es.Slang.
  1. a detective.

  2. a police officer.

Origin of shamus

1
1925–30; of obscure origin, though popularly derived from either Yiddish shamesshammes or the Irish male given name Séamas

Words Nearby shamus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use shamus in a sentence

  • You must know that a very long time ago, when many kings ruled Ireland, there lived a boy named shamus.

  • Fergus lighted his pipe, drew his chair a little closer to the hearth, and related the story of shamus the Harper.

British Dictionary definitions for shamus

shamus

/ (ˈʃɑːməs, ˈʃeɪ-) /


nounplural -muses
  1. US slang a police or private detective

Origin of shamus

1
probably from shammes, influenced by Irish Séamas James

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012