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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

sleuth en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /sluːθ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /sluːθ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Clipping of sleuthhound.

Meanings

  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?
    • “This is a great piece of sleuth work for sure, and it significantly advances efforts to understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2,” said Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the study. 2021 June 23, Carl Zimmer, quoting Michael Worobey, “Scientist Finds Early Virus Sequences That Had Been Mysteriously Deleted”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
  2. (archaic) A sleuthhound; a bloodhound.
  3. (obsolete) An animal’s trail or track.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
sleuths Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

supersleuth · sleuthy · sleuthlike · sleuthery · sleuthhound · cybersleuth · websleuth · sleuth dog · sleuthwork

Synonyms

gumshoe · detective · private eye · investigator · dick

Translations (40)

es detective (detective) · de Schnüffler (detective) · de Spürnase (detective) · fi etsivä (detective) · fr détective (detective) · fa کارآگاه (detective) · ro copoi (detective) · fi yksityisetsivä (detective) · hu detektív (detective) · bg детектив (detective) · nl detectief (detective) · ar جَاسُوس (detective) · sv detektiv (detective) · ca detectiu (detective) · de Detektiv (detective) · hu kopó (detective) · hu nyomozó (detective) · it investigatore (detective) · fa جاسوس (detective) · nl speurder (detective) · ka მაძებარი (detective) · sh detektiv (detective) · nl detective (detective) · cs detektiv (detective) · ru сы́щик (detective) · ro detectiv (detective) · no detektiv (detective) · nl speurneus (detective) · sv snok (detective) · ru ище́йка (detective) · el λαγωνικό (detective) · hu rendőrkopó (detective) · nl rechercheur (detective) · ar جَاسُوسَة (detective) · id reserse (detective) · pt detetive (detective) · id detektif (detective) · sh tragač (detective) · fa مفتش (detective) · sv deckare (detective)

sleuth en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /sluːθ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /sluːθ/ (General-American)

Etymology

Clipping of sleuthhound.

Meanings

  1. (ambitransitive) To act as a detective; to try to discover who committed a crime, or, more generally, to solve a mystery.
    • We must discover where he lives, what he does — sleuth him, in fact! 1922, Agatha Christie, The Secret Adversary:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
sleuthing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
sleuths Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
sleuthed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
sleuthed Tense=Past lexicographic

Synonyms

unravel · puzzle out · work out · work out · solve · tease out · think out · Any from Thesaurus:untangle · unsolve · absolve · get to the bottom of · unriddle · iron out · solve · get to the bottom of · sleuth · meliorate · unpuzzle · shadow · decipher · riddle · upsolve · reason out · ravel · resolve · gumshoe

Translations (11)

it mettersi sulle tracce (act as a detective) · cs vyšetřovat (act as a detective) · nl naspeuren (act as a detective) · de nachspüren (act as a detective) · nl schaduwen (act as a detective) · de schnüffeln (act as a detective) · de untersuchen (act as a detective) · sv spana (act as a detective) · de beschatten (act as a detective) · sv skugga (act as a detective) · ru высле́живать (act as a detective)

sleuth en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /sluːθ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /sluːθ/ (General-American)

Etymology

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

Meanings

  1. (obsolete, uncountable) Slowness; laziness, sloth.
  2. (collective, rare) A group of bears.
    • From the darkness came the howls of routs of wolves and bands of coyotes, the rumbling growls of a sleuth of bears or the bugles of a gang of elk. 2007, Elinor DeWire, The Lightkeepers’ Menagerie: Stories of Animals at Lighthouses, page 200:
    • If these dainty adventurers weren’t being chased by a sleuth of bears or bogeys, they were being captured by Gypsies or thieves. 1995, Bobbie Ann Mason, The Girl Sleuth, page 13:
    • 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… 1961, Noel Perrin, A Passport Secretly Green, page 89:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
sleuths Number=Plur lexicographic

Relateds

sloth

Synonyms

inertia · sloth · laziness · sloth · lethargy · idleness · slothfulness