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Glite Dictionary
T-man

T-man

1 9.9
A man who works for the United States Treasury to look into crimes about money and taxes
  • noun
  • /ˈtiːˌmæn/
  • Archaic
: agente del Tesoro
  • The T-man's job involves tracking down tax evaders and enforcing financial laws.

Examples

  • I get to see my favorite T-man.

    Boiling Point (1993)

  • Yeah, the T-men are also sending a special Customs squad.

    The Hindenburg (1975)

  • 'He's a T-man, I know him.

    Black Rainbow (1989)

  • The T-man arrived at the scene to investigate the financial fraud.

  • During the seminar, a former T-man shared his experiences in federal cases.

Synonyms

treasury agent
vsT-man
  • US
2 5.8

A government worker who looks into serious money crimes like tax fraud and making fake money

is the male-specific word for the same federal enforcement role

Surface Forms

T-man singular
T-men plural

Morphology

T-man = T + man (semi-transparent) = T + man

Meaning is predictable as 'T' + 'man' if the reader recognises 'T' as an abbreviation for the Treasury; without that knowledge the initial 'T' is opaque.

Etymology

T-man comes from the letter T for Treasury, so a T-man is literally a 'Treasury man' — someone who works for the government on money and tax cases. That's why a T-man means a U.S. law officer who hunts crimes about money and taxes.