1
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
Last fall, Giddish's guest SVU spot came with a promotion to sergeant — and a new gig working for the NYPD Intelligence Unit.
—
Alex Ross, People.com, 15 May 2025
Rollins continued to pitch in on cases before leaving her university position and subsequently rejoining NYPD as sergeant in the intelligence section upon recommendation by Olivia Benson (Hargitay).
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 May 2025
Sarah Lancashire plays police sergeant Catherine Cawood, a middle-aged divorcee who lives with her sister and raises her grandson.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
Listen to this article The former Mass State Police sergeant who was federally convicted in the Commercial Driver’s License bribery scheme takes home more than $100,000 a year from his pension, according to state records.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sergeant
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Alex Ross, People.com, 15 May 2025
Rollins continued to pitch in on cases before leaving her university position and subsequently rejoining NYPD as sergeant in the intelligence section upon recommendation by Olivia Benson (Hargitay).
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 May 2025
Sarah Lancashire plays police sergeant Catherine Cawood, a middle-aged divorcee who lives with her sister and raises her grandson.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
Listen to this article The former Mass State Police sergeant who was federally convicted in the Commercial Driver’s License bribery scheme takes home more than $100,000 a year from his pension, according to state records.
—Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sergeant
Cite this Entry
“Sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sergeant. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sergeant
noun
ser·geant
ˈsär-jənt 
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"
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