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shamus

American  
[shah-muhs, shey-] / ˈʃɑ məs, ˈʃeɪ- /

noun

Slang.

plural

shamuses

  1. a detective.

  2. a police officer.

shamus British  
/ ˈʃeɪ-, ˈʃɑːməs /

noun

  1. slang a police or private detective

"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

Etymology

Origin of shamus

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.