sleuth

[slooth] /sluθ/
noun
1.
a detective.
Synonyms: investigator, private investigator; private eye, gumshoe, shamus.
2.
a bloodhound, a dog used for tracking.
verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
3.
to track or trail, as a detective.
Origin
1875-80; short for sleuthhound
Related forms
sleuthlike, adjective
supersleuth, noun
Examples from the web for sleuth
  • Play a sleuth with your portrait detective and historian guides.
  • Each series is easily identifiable, and finding a missing piece satisfies every buyer's inner sleuth.
  • Often, identifying the rampart in satellite images requires a degree of sleuth work.
  • Judging by what happens here the plight of a romantically inclined sleuth is not precisely enviable.
  • He takes on a case, awakening a stirring in his cream-filled soul, and opens a sideline as a sleuth.
  • They'll bring out the sleuth in you if it's not already there.
British Dictionary definitions for sleuth

sleuth

/sluːθ/
noun
1.
an informal word for detective
2.
short for sleuthhound (sense 1)
verb
3.
(transitive) to track or follow
Word Origin
C19: short for sleuthhound, from C12 sleuth trail, from Old Norse sloth; see slot²
Word Origin and History for sleuth
n.

c.1200, "track or trail of a person," from Old Norse sloð "trail," of uncertain origin. Meaning "detective" is 1872, shortening of sleuth-hound "keen investigator" (1849), a figurative use of a word that dates back to late 14c. meaning a kind of bloodhound. The verb (intransitive) meaning "to act as a detective, investigate" is recorded from 1905. Related: Sleuthed; sleuthing.