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
Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 8 June 2025
But that morning, border patrol agents were spotted across the street from the Home Depot, gathering around 9 a.m.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025
On Tuesday, the city’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety committee voted to approve a resolution for 153 of the city’s 375 marked (as opposed to unmarked) police cruisers to patrol the city with their blue roof lights steadily on.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Highway patrol video shows damage to the plane’s tail, which appears to have broken off along with other parts of the aircraft.
—Amanda Musa, CNN Money, 8 June 2025
But that morning, border patrol agents were spotted across the street from the Home Depot, gathering around 9 a.m.
—Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025
Verb
The Roosevelt Reservation is now patrolled by military personnel, and entering it is considered trespassing on a military base — a criminal act.
—Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2025
On Tuesday, the city’s Finance, Governance and Public Safety committee voted to approve a resolution for 153 of the city’s 375 marked (as opposed to unmarked) police cruisers to patrol the city with their blue roof lights steadily on.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 4 June 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 13 Jun. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share