gendarmerie

noun gen·dar·mer·ie \ zhän-ˈdär-mə-rē , jän- \

variants: or gendarmery

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of gendarmerie

plural gendarmeries

: a body of gendarmes

Recent Examples of gendarmerie from the Web

The former diplomat, who served most recently at the Holy See’s embassy in Washington, was being held in a cell in the gendarmerie’s barracks, the statement said.

— francis x. rocca, WSJ, "Vatican Diplomat Arrested on Child Porn Suspicions," 7 Apr. 2018
The Vatican on Saturday said Monsignor Carlo Capella was being held in gendarmerie barracks inside the Vatican, and that his arrest follows a Vatican investigation.

— Fox News, "Vatican arrests diplomat accused of viewing child porn," 7 Apr. 2018
He was later chosen to join the gendarmerie's elite GSIGN in 2003, and he was deployed to Iraq in 2005.

— adam taylor, Washington Post, "‘He saved lives’: Arnaud Beltrame, police officer who traded places with a hostage, to be honored by France," 24 Mar. 2018
About 200 of Beltrame's colleagues from the gendarmerie, a national police force, which is part of the military, attended the ceremony in Paris.

— deutsche welle, USA TODAY, "France honors 'hero' policeman who died in terrorist attack," 28 Mar. 2018
Beltrame, 44, a distinguished officer in the local gendarmerie, offered to take the hostages' place.

— kim willsher, latimes.com, "French police officer who traded places with hostages dies from gunshot wound, praised as hero," 24 Mar. 2018
According to two government decrees, those dismissed in the new wave of purges include 637 military personnel, 360 gendarmerie force members, and 150 academics or other university personnel.

— Washington Post, "Body found, 36 missing in fire at Philippine shopping mall," 24 Dec. 2017
Gunmen opened fire on a post of the national gendarmerie, or paramilitary police, in the town of Ayorou, 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of the capital, Niamey, according to Karim Boureima, a deputy for the southwestern Tillabery region.

— anthony capaccio, Bloomberg.com, "U.S. General Says Niger Probe Continues With Details Elusive," 24 Oct. 2017
In the Timbuktu attack, the mission said five Malian security guards and a Malian contractor working for the mission were killed along with a member of the Malian gendarmerie.

— edith m. lederer, chicagotribune.com, "Gunmen attack U.N. base in Mali, killing 7 and wounding 7," 14 Aug. 2017

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