gumshoe

/ˈɡʌm.ʃuː/

//ˈɡʌm.ʃuː// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gumshoe" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gumshoe” is uncommon English (frequency #82,358 among 2,313 “G” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#82,358
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sneaker or rubber overshoe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gumshoe · gumshoe · English

gumshoe · rank #82,358 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #82,358
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH gullibility

Nearest frequency peer: gullibility (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “gumshoe”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “gumshoe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for gumshoe
PropertyValue
Headwordgumshoe
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡʌm.ʃuː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#82,358
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “gumshoe” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).gumshoefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “gullibility” (#82,357), “guv” (#82,359), “Guillen” (#82,356). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gumshoe” is #82,358. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

gumshoe is uncommon English at frequency #82,358 among 2,313 “G” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɡʌm.ʃuː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for gumshoe, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From gum + shoe. The correct English form is gumshoe, spelled G-U-M-S-H-O-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sneaker or rubber overshoe.
  2. 2
    A detective.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how gumshoe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "Who's this gumshoe guy from the bush league tailin' us?"

Etymology

From gum + shoe.

This word in other languages

sabueso(Español)Schnüffler(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gumshoe"?
"gumshoe" is spelled G-U-M-S-H-O-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡʌm.ʃuː/.
What does "gumshoe" mean?
As a noun, "gumshoe" means: A sneaker or rubber overshoe.
How do you pronounce "gumshoe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gumshoe" is /ˈɡʌm.ʃuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gumshoe"?
From gum + shoe. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gumshoe", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Guillen#82,356greaser#82,352Gowanus#82,347Hankins#82,370

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list