sherlock

US: (shûr′lok)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

sher•lock  (shûr′lok), n. [Informal.]

1. Informal Terms a private detective.
2. Informal Terms a person remarkably adept at solving mysteries, esp. by using insight and logical deduction:
   Who's the sherlock who can tell me where my pen is?

Also, Sher′lock. 

• after Sherlock Holmes, fictitious detective created by Arthur Conan Doyle

Sher•lock  (shûr′lok), n. 

1. a male given name: from an Old English word meaning "fair-haired.''

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

Holmes  (hōmz, hōlmz), n. 

John Haynes  (hānz), 1879–1964, U.S. clergyman. Oliver Wen•dell  (wen′dl), 1809–94, U.S. poet, novelist, essayist, and physician.
1. Biographical his son, Oliver Wendell, 1841–1935, U.S. jurist: associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court 1902–32.
2. Literature Sherlock, a detective in many mystery stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.