pinkertons
pinkertons Lexical Profile
pinkertons Game Scores & Validity
• noun
American Plural form of Pinkerton: private detectives or security guards employed by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, historically notable for tracking outlaws and suppressing labor strikes in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
"During the labor disputes of the late nineteenth century, industrialists frequently hired Pinkertons to guard factories and break up strikes."
American The Pinkerton National Detective Agency itself, a prominent American private security and detective organization founded in 1850.
"The railroad company contracted with the Pinkertons to investigate the string of train robberies across the Midwest."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Named after Allan Pinkerton (1819–1884), a Scottish-born American detective and spy who founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in Chicago in 1850.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.