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Sleuth

//sluːθ// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A detective.

    "1908, Edith Van Dyne (Frank L. Baum), Aunt Jane’s Nieces at Millville Do ye want me to become a sleuth, or engage detectives to track the objects of your erroneous philanthropy?"

  2. 2
    Slowness; laziness, sloth. obsolete, uncountable
  3. 3
    a detective who follows a trail wordnet
  4. 4
    A sleuthhound; a bloodhound. archaic
  5. 5
    A group of bears. collective, rare

    "As quietly as if I were practicing to join a sleuth of bears, I crept out the door and went on home, eventually winding up in the garage…"

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  1. 6
    An animal’s trail or track. obsolete
Verb
  1. 1
    To act as a detective; to try to discover who committed a crime, or, more generally, to solve a mystery. ambitransitive

    "We must discover where he lives, what he does — sleuth him, in fact!"

  2. 2
    watch, observe, or inquire secretly wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

Clipping of sleuthhound.

Etymology 2

Clipping of sleuthhound.

Etymology 3

From Old English slǣwþ, corresponding to slow + -th.

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