air marshal

noun

Definition of air marshal

1 : a commissioned officer in the British air force who ranks with a lieutenant general in the army

2 : an armed federal officer in plain clothes who is assigned to prevent skyjackings : sky marshal

Examples of air marshal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Office of Inspector General launched the investigation a year ago at the request of U.S. lawmakers after three air marshals went public with the discrimination allegations about the supervisor. — Mike Schneider, orlandosentinel.com, "Probe finds no bias by TSA supervisor at Orlando International Airport, but profiling concerns," 6 Aug. 2019 Several air marshals had to come out from undercover to help deal with her, prosecutors said. — Washington Post, "Australian model sentenced for airline flight disturbance," 15 July 2019 If the cabin crew has difficulty restoring order, flights often have air marshals and non-working crew members flying to their next post on board who will intervene to help. — Louis Cheslaw, Condé Nast Traveler, "What Happens When a Law Is Broken on a Plane," 8 July 2019 If a situation can’t be controlled by the flight attendant, passengers, or an on-board air marshal, the pilot will be quickly notified. — Louis Cheslaw, Condé Nast Traveler, "What Happens When a Law Is Broken on a Plane," 8 July 2019 The Quiet Skies program saw armed air marshals following passengers around airports and onto commercial flights, recording their behaviors in the process. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "The TSA Is Scaling Back a Controversial Program That Monitored Everyday People," 18 Dec. 2018 Indeed, the same could be said for the entire air marshal service. — John Mueller, Vox, "Airline terrorist attacks are extremely rare. It’s one reason TSA’s Quiet Skies program is a waste of money.," 4 Aug. 2018 When a person is placed on the list, a team of air marshals is placed on the person’s next flight, according to the Globe, and the team receives a list of personal information about the target. — Edmund Demarche, Fox News, "Air marshals have secretly monitored US passengers for years, report says," 31 July 2018 As Megan, the hit comedy's wildly inappropriate sister of the groom, McCarthy also hilariously seduced an air marshal (played by her real-life husband, Ben Falcone) and walked away with the movie and an Academy Award nomination. — David A. Keeps, Good Housekeeping, "Funny Girl: Exclusive Interview with Melissa McCarthy," 6 Nov. 2012

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'air marshal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

18 Aug 2019

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The first known use of air marshal was in 1919

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