sentineled or sentinelled; sentineling or sentinelling
1
: to watch over as a sentinel
2
: to furnish with a sentinel
3
: to post as sentinel
Examples of sentinel in a Sentence
Noun
a lone sentinel kept watch over the fort
Recent Examples on the Web
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
At the summit, the ruins of the Castle of Monsanto perch atop the craggy heights like a stone sentinel—offering sweeping views over the Beira Baixa plains.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Jeff Goudy, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Since the outbreak was first reported in a Texas dairy herd last March, dead barn cats have served as sentinel warnings to veterinarians and investigators of the virus’ presence on a farm.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sentinel
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Noun
The sentinels of conventional wisdom settled on the view that the Iraq invasion was one of the great own goals of American foreign policy, and that its beneficiary was Iran.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
At the summit, the ruins of the Castle of Monsanto perch atop the craggy heights like a stone sentinel—offering sweeping views over the Beira Baixa plains.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Verb
The journey unfolds through fairways framed by stone walls, with an ancient tower standing sentinel behind the 3rd green, before building toward the 8th—another cape
hole bending back along the coast in the opposite direction of the 2nd.
—Jeff Goudy, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Since the outbreak was first reported in a Texas dairy herd last March, dead barn cats have served as sentinel warnings to veterinarians and investigators of the virus’ presence on a farm.
—Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sentinel
Cite this Entry
“Sentinel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentinel. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
sentinel
adjective
sen·ti·nel
ˈsent-ᵊn-əl 
: being an individual or part of a population potentially susceptible to an infection or infestation that is being monitored for the appearance or recurrence of the causative pathogen or parasite
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