1
a
: the action of traversing a district or beat or of going the rounds along a chain of guards for observation or the maintenance of security
b
: the person performing such an action
c
: a unit of persons or vehicles employed for reconnaissance, security, or combat
2
: a subdivision of a Boy Scout troop or Girl Scout troop
patrolled; patrolling
: to carry out a patrol
: to carry out a patrol of
patroller
noun
Examples of patrol in a Sentence
Noun
The guard makes a patrol of the building every hour.
Soldiers are on patrol along the border.
Army patrols combed the area.
Verb
The squad had orders to patrol the area.
The border is patrolled by the army.
Recent Examples on the Web
David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Dec. 2025
The Russia-China joint bomber patrol, carried out on Tuesday, came amid rising tensions between Tokyo and the Moscow-Beijing quasi-alliance.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Gunfire was heard and soldiers were seen patrolling around some locations in Cotonou, but the city has been relatively calm since the coup attempt was announced.
—CNN Money, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
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Noun
An Enquirer review of the more than 4,000 flights so far found drones have helped officers apprehend suspects, been first on the scene of shootings and performed aerial patrols across neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine.
—David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Dec. 2025
The Russia-China joint bomber patrol, carried out on Tuesday, came amid rising tensions between Tokyo and the Moscow-Beijing quasi-alliance.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Verb
During its mission to support sanctions against North Korea, the New Zealand vessel patrolled 158,000 square miles of water, interrupted two possibly illicit ship-to-ship transfers, identified seven vessels of interest and broadcast 79 deterrence messages.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Gunfire was heard and soldiers were seen patrolling around some locations in Cotonou, but the city has been relatively calm since the coup attempt was announced.
—CNN Money, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Cite this Entry
“Patrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patrol. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
patrol
1 of 2 noun
pa·trol
pə-ˈtrōl 
1
a
: the action of going the rounds of an area for observation or guard
b
: the person or group doing the patrolling
2
: a part of a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop
patrol
2 of 2 verb
patrolled; patrolling
: to carry out a patrol or a patrol of
patroller
noun
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