patrol 1 of 2

noun

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as in sentry

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patrol

2 of 2

verb

as in to guard
to walk or go around or through (an area, building, etc.) especially in order to make sure that it is safe The squad had orders to patrol the area. The border is patrolled by the army.

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of patrol
Noun
The machines were part of a pilot program that ended earlier this year, and the state patrol is preparing its results for state lawmakers. — Meg Anderson, NPR, 10 Mar. 2025 Ahead of International Women’s Day March 8, The Christian Science Monitor joins an all-female firefighting force on patrol. — Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Mar. 2025
Verb
The sham fishermen were positioned along the narco-submarines routes and served to alert the crews to any law enforcement boats patrolling the same waters, according to the Justice Department. — Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2025 Wearing a long dress and a coat with her badge pinned to the lapel, Wells patrolled Los Angeles’ seediest spots. — Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for patrol
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrol
  1. sentry
  2. guard
  3. outpost
  4. protect
  5. picket
  6. commando
  7. watch
  8. rear guard
Noun
  • Intimidating sentries patrol the streets; snipers are merciless death machines.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 14 Nov. 2014
  • Sitting in front of him was the angry sentry known as Devlin’s Billabong, named when Bruce Devlin needed six shots to get out of the pond in the final round of the 1975 Andy Williams Open.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Jan. 2025
Definition of sentry
Verb
  • So the hardest part was keeping the lid on it, remaining guarded, whilst also trying to have a heart and connect with him.
    — Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2025
  • As natural protectors, dogs might decide to sit by doors to guard the house and family from possible intruders.
    — David Faris, Newsweek, 17 Mar. 2025
Definition of guard
Noun
  • Weekly and monthly shows have continued rotating at comedy-friendly outposts such as Crane’s Bar or Grand Central Market post-pandemic, but full-time clubs haven’t historically tested their luck downtown.
    — Julie Seabaugh, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Where to Eat in Miami Mother Wolf Pasta aficionados will be excited to enjoy Evan Funke’s latest outpost of Mother Wolf in the Design District.
    — Benjamin Liong Setiawan, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of outpost
Verb
  • Forbes is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
    — Tony East, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
  • Advertisement Much like how Russia has justified the occupation of Donbas, Rwanda claims to be protecting an ethnic minority—in this case, the Tutsi community, which lives in both countries.
    — Jason K. Stearns, TIME, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of protect
Noun
  • Tuesday’s demonstration served as a precursor to an informational picket scheduled for Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. outside the California Department of Human Resources.
    — William Melhado, Sacramento Bee, 12 Mar. 2025
  • More:Strike averted: University of Michigan Health, SEIU reach tentative contract agreement Another group of unionized workers at U-M Health Sparrow is planning an informational picket from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday outside the hospital on E. Michigan Avenue in Lansing.
    — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 21 Nov. 2024
Definition of picket
Noun
  • Consider the 1976 Entebbe operation, the raid in Uganda by Israeli commandos—and the raid in which the prime minister’s elder brother, Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed: the operation succeeded in rescuing 102 of the 106 hostages held by Palestinian militants.
    — Amos Harel, Foreign Affairs, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Nearly a year before Israel said its troops crossed into Lebanon yesterday, small teams of Israeli commandos began operations targeting Hezbollah tunnels, weapons depots and other sites, the official said.
    — NBC News, NBC News, 2 Oct. 2024
Definition of commando
Noun
  • Meanwhile, a flood watch is in place for Southern California.
    — Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
  • On Tuesday at 1:37 a.m. a high wind watch was issued by the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA valid from Wednesday 2 p.m. until Thursday 2 a.m. for San Luis Obispo County Interior Valleys and San Luis Obispo County Mountains.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacramento Bee, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of watch
Noun
  • The north was expected to be America’s rear guard, a place where values like democracy and women’s rights might have taken hold.
    — Azam Ahmed, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024
  • And assassins from a coalition of all the local indigenous tribes — out for blood over the murder of Jimmy the Creek, one of their own, last episode — slit the throats of Ming’s rear guard.
    — Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
Definition of rear guard

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Cite this Entry

“Patrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patrol. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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