G-man

[ jee-man ]

noun

, plural G-men.

1. an agent for the FBI.

G-man

noun

1. slang.
   an FBI agent
2. a political detective

Word History and Origins

Origin of G-man¹

First recorded in 1920–25; probably representing Government man

Example Sentences

“My own view is that Buckley would probably think about Trump more or less what he thought about McCarthy,” Beverly Gage, a history professor at Yale University and author of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning J. Edgar Hoover biography “G-Man,” said in a video interview.

From New York Times

Last year’s winner was “G-Man,” Beverly Gage’s biography of J. Edgar Hoover, who as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation worked to undermine Dr. King, authorizing wiretaps of his home and office and planting bugs in his hotel rooms.

From New York Times

I usually prefer fiction, but Beverly Gage’s G-MAN: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century was a revelation.

From New York Times

This is not the G-man of old.”

From Los Angeles Times

“This is a pretty dramatic reversal of what the politics would have been 50 years ago,” said Beverly Gage, a historian at Yale who won a 2023 Pulitzer Prize for her biography of the legendary FBI director, “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century.”

From Seattle Times