sleuth
/sluːθ/noun, verb
sleuth is spelled S-L-E-U-T-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sleuth means “A detective” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sleuth is sleuths.
How many letters and syllables are in sleuth?
| Letters | 6: S-L-E-U-T-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sleuth?
Sleuth appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sleuth?
- UK /sluːθ/
- US /sluːθ/
Sleuth has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sleuth.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with sleuth?
8 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sleuth from its last stressed vowel (/uθ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hustle.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sleuth
- sleuths plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- sleuthing participle, present
- sleuthed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sleuth mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A detective.
- 2
archaicA sleuthhound; a bloodhound.
- 3
obsoleteAn animal’s trail or track.
- 4
obsoleteSlowness; laziness, sloth.
- 5
rareA group of bears.
verb
- 1
To act as a detective; to try to discover who committed a crime, or, more generally, to solve a mystery.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sleuth in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | détective |
| German | Schnüffler, Spürnase, Detektiv , nachspüren, untersuchen, beschatten |
| Portuguese | detetive |
| Spanish | detective |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sleuth come from?
Clipping of sleuthhound.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).