patrol

noun pa·trol \ pə-ˈtrōl \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Definition of patrol

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

See patrol defined for English-language learners

See patrol defined for kids

Examples of patrol in a Sentence

The guard makes a patrol of the building every hour.
Soldiers are on patrol along the border.
Army patrols combed the area.

Recent Examples of patrol from the Web

On June 21, the girl's mother notified patrol officers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Providence Division about the assaults, police said late Wednesday.

— joe marusak, charlotteobserver, "Security guard sexually assaulted girl, 13, at Charlotte middle school, police say," 11 July 2018
Police department rosters for May showed that on some days more than 40 percent of patrol officers were working overtime shifts.

— ian duncan, baltimoresun.com, "Baltimore Police assign 115 extra officers to patrol the streets in hopes of curbing overtime spending, crime," 11 July 2018
At a time when police were moving toward more community interaction, Reyes, whose father is Mexican-American and whose mother is white, started on the street as a patrol officer, applying his fluency in Spanish to the job.

— steve miletich, The Seattle Times, "‘He’s just a doer’: Meet Seattle police-chief candidate Ely Reyes," 9 July 2018
Instead, Nora is among a group of 40 kids ages 12 through 15 participating in the second session of the academy, which is designed to give them a look at what police, patrol officers, crime scene investigators and detectives do everyday.

— cortlynn stark, kansascity, "Instead of watching Netflix, KC kids dust for fingerprints at police academy," 9 July 2018
From the car, patrol officers seized six guns, three of them assault-style rifles, plus the cash, suspected marijuana oil and several bottles of powerful codeine cough syrup without a valid prescription.

— david ovalle, miamiherald, "'We got bills to pay, sweetie.' Cops forced to return stripper's $19,934 in cash," 6 July 2018
By this point, more than 20 deputies (as well as the sheriff’s department’s helicopter, police dogs, highway patrol officers and other local police) were on the hunt for the escapee.

— jared gilmour, sacbee, "Inmate escaped 2 days into a 4-day sentence. Freedom was short-lived, deputies say | The Sacramento Bee," 30 Apr. 2018
On Martha’s Vineyard, four troopers patrol approximately 90 miles of state roads and maintain one of two breath-test machines on the island, according to Procopio.

— todd wallack, BostonGlobe.com, "For some State Police, it’s a posting in paradise," 14 July 2018
The deal increases New Zealand’s patrol and intelligence gathering abilities in a region expected to be home to half of the world’s submarines in a few decades, as China’s naval expansion accelerates an Asian arms race.

— rob taylor, WSJ, "New Zealand Buys Boeing Surveillance Jets to Counter Chinese Buildup," 9 July 2018

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.

First Known Use of patrol

1664

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

patrol

verb

Definition of patrol

patrolled; patrolling

intransitive verb

: to carry out a patrol

transitive verb

: to carry out a patrol of

—

patroller

noun

See patrol defined for English-language learners

Examples of patrol in a Sentence

The squad had orders to patrol the area.
The border is patrolled by the army.

Recent Examples of patrol from the Web

During his first year as chief, Metzger plans to hire nine officers dedicated to patrolling the downtown Orlando campus for UCF and Valencia College that is set to open in August 2019.

— annie martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "New UCF police chief talks about preventing shootings, sex crimes," 13 July 2018
Whiteman pointed out that the edibles market provides a more discreet way to catch a buzz without the attention of patrolling police.

— kathleen gray, Detroit Free Press, "What Michigan needs to learn from Colorado's legalized marijuana," 12 July 2018
Next are 18-foot steel fences set back from the river, where agents patrol in trucks.

— nicholas kulish, New York Times, "Border Patrol’s Last Line of Defense? It Isn’t at the Border," 9 July 2018
Next are 18-foot steel fences set back from the river, where agents patrol in trucks.

— nicholas kulish, The Seattle Times, "Human smuggling cat-and-mouse game plays out beyond the U.S.-Mexico border," 9 July 2018
The new approach is likely to depend heavily on measures to prevent migrants getting anywhere near Europe, patrolling the continent’s exterior border more carefully, and sifting out migrants with genuine asylum claims in camps in North Africa.

— chris cottrell, The Christian Science Monitor, "Immigration deal saves German government, points to European future," 9 July 2018
With the summer starting off with a heat wave, timing of the operation was pretty good locally, where the Marine Unit patrols the Chain O' Lakes in Lake County.

— jim newton, Lake County News-Sun, "Crackdown on Chain O' Lakes yields impaired boating arrests, citations," 8 July 2018
Government forces patrolled deserted streets and sealed off the hometown of Burhan Wani in anticipation of widespread anti-India protests and clashes in the region.

— Fox News, "Strike, curfew shuts Kashmir on rebel's death anniversary," 8 July 2018
There was word that there might be police patrolling the roads.

— deirdre fernandes, BostonGlobe.com, "An education in hope," 7 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of patrol

French patrouiller, from Middle French, to tramp around in the mud, from patte paw — more at patten

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1648

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

See Words from the same year

PATROL Defined for English Language Learners

patrol

noun

Definition of patrol for English Language Learners

: the act of walking or going around or through an area, building, etc., in order to make sure that it is safe : the act of patrolling an area
: a group of people, vehicles, etc., that go through an area to make sure that it is safe : a group that patrols an area