sleuth

1 of 2

noun

sleuth

2 of 2

verb

sleuthed; sleuthing; sleuths

intransitive verb

: to act as a detective : search for information

transitive verb

: to search for and discover

Did you know?

"They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!" Those canine tracks in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles set the great Sherlock Holmes sleuthing on the trail of a murderer. It was a case of art imitating etymology. When Middle English speakers first borrowed sleuth from Old Norse, the term referred to "the track of an animal or person." In Scotland, sleuthhound referred to a bloodhound used to hunt game or track down fugitives from justice. In 19th-century U.S. English, sleuthhound became an epithet for a detective and was soon shortened to sleuth. From there, it was only a short leap to turning sleuth into a verb describing what a sleuth does.

Examples of sleuth in a Sentence

Noun the popular TV sleuth lives a much more action-packed life than do his real-world counterparts
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Online sleuths connected the offending fan to a New Jersey management consulting firm, BCT Partners, that denounced its employee’s behavior. David K. Li, NBC News, 15 Jan. 2025 If that wasn't enough, the book also features personal reflections from Swift herself—including a note to her fans at the back, which has internet sleuths spiraling. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2024
Verb
Since the couple — whose relationship was confirmed in 2021 — have not spoken about the engagement, the internet has gone wild trying to sleuth out information. Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025 Some of it can be fun, as players sleuth their way into restricted areas, or suss out how to solve riddles. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sleuth 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for sleuthhound

First Known Use

Noun

1872, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1900, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of sleuth was in 1872

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Dictionary Entries Near sleuth

Cite this Entry

“Sleuth.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleuth. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

sleuth

1 of 2 noun

sleuth

2 of 2 verb
: to act as a detective
Etymology

Noun

a shortened form of sleuthhound "a dog that follows a track or trail by scent," from Middle English sleuth "a track or trail"; of Norse origin

Word Origin
In Middle English the word sleuth meant "the track or trail left by an animal or person." After the 15th century sleuth was seldom used except in such words as sleuth-dog and sleuthhound. These were terms for a dog trained to follow a track or trail. The sleuthhound became well known for its eager and thorough pursuit of an object. Later the word sleuthhound came to be used for a "detective." The modern word sleuth first came into use as a shortened form of sleuthhound.

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