sher·lock

also Sher·lock (shûr′lŏk′)

A detective.

[After Sherlock Holmes, detective in stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sherlock

(ˈʃɜːˌlɒk)

a detective

to investigate (something)

[after Sherlock Holmes, fictional detective]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sher•lock

(ˈʃɜr lɒk)

n. (often cap.)

1. a detective.

2. a person adept at solving mysteries, esp. by using insight and logical deduction.

[1900–05; after Sherlock Holmes, fictitious detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle]

Sher•lock′i•an, adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

sherlock - someone who can be employed as a detective to collect information

private detective, private eye, private investigator, shamus, operative, PI

detective - an investigator engaged or employed in obtaining information not easily available to the public

hotel detective, house detective - a private detective employed by a hotel or retail store

inquiry agent - a private detective

store detective - a private detective employed by a merchant to stop pilferage

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Sherlock Holmes I had never heard him refer to his relations, and hardly ever to his own early life.

I had never heard of the institution, and my face must have proclaimed as much, for Sherlock Holmes pulled out his watch.

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Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table.

I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.

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"There are difficulties; there are certainly difficulties," said Sherlock Holmes, pensively.

She must have been more than woman if she did not feel some uneasiness at the strange enterprise upon which we were embarking, yet her self-control was perfect, and she readily answered the few additional questions which Sherlock Holmes put to her.

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"You don't know Sherlock Holmes yet," he said; "perhaps you would not care for him as a constant companion."

Now we have the Sherlock Holmes' test, and there will no longer be any difficulty."

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The house was just such as I had pictured it from Sherlock Holmes' succinct description, but the locality appeared to be less private than I expected.

"You have really got it!" he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face.

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Sherlock Holmes, "London has become a singularly uninteresting city since the death of the late lamented Professor Moriarty."

Sherlock Holmes was leaning back in his chair after his whimsical protest, and was unfolding his morning paper in a leisurely fashion, when our attention was arrested by a tremendous ring at the bell, followed immediately by a hollow drumming sound, as if someone were beating on the outer door with his fist.

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