patrol

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noun

pa·trol pə-ˈtrōl

: 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

: the person performing such an action

: a unit of persons or vehicles employed for reconnaissance, security, or combat

: a subdivision of a Boy Scout troop or Girl Scout troop

patrol

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verb

patrolled; patrolling

intransitive verb

: to carry out a patrol

transitive verb

: to carry out a patrol of

patroller noun

Example Sentences

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

Noun

Kelly Mikel Williams, who chairs an advisory neighborhood commission that covers Washington Highlands in Southeast Washington, where one of Thursday’s killings occurred, said federal officers should help local police on patrol. —

Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2023 Here, a Ukrainian soldier scans an apartment block after hearing a shot fired while on patrol. —

Richard Engel, NBC News, 15 Feb. 2023 The documentary series follows live news-gathering protocols as more than 50 cameras work in real time to capture the work of police officers on patrol. —

Selome Hailu, Variety, 14 Feb. 2023 An officer on patrol at 12:15 a.m. Jan. 28 saw a car parked on an access road off Stearns. —

cleveland, 3 Feb. 2023 McMaster has been taken off patrol and placed on desk duty. —

Henri Hollis, ajc, 20 Feb. 2023 Border patrol representatives were not available Monday evening to provide further information on the incident. —

Paul Sisson Feb. 20, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2023 Lance said a patrol deputy noticed the vehicle at a home about five miles away, approached it, and detained Crum. —

Amy Goldstein, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023 The submarine disappeared in November 1944, on her 11th war patrol, likely after striking a mine. —

Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 17 Feb. 2023

Verb

Morrow said the San Antonio Zoo already has 24-hour security, which includes officers that patrol the zoo grounds day and night. —

Gabriella Ybarra, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Feb. 2023 That includes the quasi-military border police who patrol the occupied territories alongside soldiers. —

Gwen Ackerman, Bloomberg.com, 13 Jan. 2023 That great profiteer, England, had turned from trafficking to policing, dispatching a Royal Navy squadron to patrol the high seas. —

Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Oct. 2022 DeSoto police dispatched members of the criminal investigation division, the UAS (Drone) Team and regional drone operators, and multiple K-9 units with the Search One Rescue team to patrol the shoreline. —

Dallas News, 6 Feb. 2022 Russia dispatched two strategic bombers to patrol Belarusian airspace on Wednesday in a show of support for its ally. —

NBC News, 11 Nov. 2021 In addition to police spending, the city also pledged $8.5 million last October to hire more community ambassadors, who patrol downtown areas, to clean trash and discourage behavior like drug use and tents blocking sidewalks. —

Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Jan. 2023 The young prince sharply curbed the influence of conservatives and defanged the religious police who patrol the streets. —

Sarah Dadouch, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2022 Biden nominated Magnus in April 2021 to lead CBP, a massive agency with more than 60,000 border agents, customs officers, and other employees who patrol the nation’s ports and borders and oversee billions of dollars in cross-border trade and travel. —

Nick Miroff And Maria Sacchetti, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Nov. 2022 See More

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