sergeant

noun

ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio)
Synonyms of sergeantnext
1
: sergeant at arms
2
obsolete : an officer who enforces the judgments of a court or the commands of one in authority
3
: a noncommissioned officer ranking in the army and marine corps above a corporal and below a staff sergeant
broadly : noncommissioned officer
4
: an officer in a police force ranking in the U.S. just below captain or sometimes lieutenant and in England just below inspector

Examples of sergeant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Sherman worked for the Randolph Police Department for 23 years and was promoted to the sergeant position in 2022, the police chief said. — Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 20 Mar. 2025 Norfolk County Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally accused Read of leaving O'Keefe to die outside the home of one of the officers — Brian Albert, then a Boston police sergeant. O’Keefe was found unresponsive outside Albert's suburban home on the morning of Jan. 22. — Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 19 Mar. 2025 More news: Vermont police sergeant accused of watching YouTube in cruiser, fatally hitting cyclist 'Incredibly chaotic': Authorities are probing the cause of the crash Eleven victims were transported to local hospitals, including several with critical life-threatening injuries. — Taylor Ardrey, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2025 Hochul’s executive order also recommends these former officers and sergeants should have their names excised from the Central Registry of Police and Peace Officers for cause. — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sergeant

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sergeaunt, seriaunt, sergaunt, sargeaunt "servant, attendant, foot soldier, officer of a town, a court, or the royal household, holder of a sergeancy," borrowed from Anglo-French (also continental Old French sergant), going back to early Medieval Latin servient-, serviens "servant," going back to Latin, present participle of serviō, servīre "to perform duties for (a master) in the capacity of a slave, serve entry 1"

Note: The word sergeant is in effect a doublet of servant, both ultimately descending from the present participle of Latin servīre. The two words are already distinct in some manuscripts of the eleventh-century Old French Vie de saint Alexis, with sergant referring to a trusted servant of a noble household, servant simply to one serving God. The usual pronunciation of English sergeant exemplifies the late Middle English change of /ɛr/ to /ar/ before a consonant, which is not reflected in the standard spelling.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sergeant was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing sergeant

Rhymes for sergeant

See All Rhymes for sergeant

Browse Nearby Words

sergeant
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sergeant. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

sergeant

noun
ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio)
1
: a military noncommissioned officer with any of the ranks above corporal in the army or the marines or above airman first class in the air force
especially : an enlisted person with the rank just below that of staff sergeant
2
: a police officer ranking in the U.S. just below captain or sometimes lieutenant
Etymology

Middle English sergeant "sergeant, attendant, servant," from early French sergent, serjant (same meaning), from Latin servient-, serviens, a form of the verb servire "to serve"

More from Merriam-Webster on sergeant

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sergeant

Nglish: Translation of sergeant for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All