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sergeant

noun
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ser·​geant | \ ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio) \

Definition of sergeant

1 : sergeant at arms
2 obsolete : an officer who enforces the judgments of a court or the commands of one in authority
3 : a noncommissioned officer ranking in the army and marine corps above a corporal and below a staff sergeant broadly : noncommissioned officer
4 : an officer in a police force ranking in the U.S. just below captain or sometimes lieutenant and in England just below inspector

Examples of sergeant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The incident occurred at about 8:15 a.m., when a Marin County sheriff’s sergeant noticed a car parked in the 400 block of Drake Avenue with its windows covered. — Matthew Pera, The Mercury News, "Marin City vehicle check snags East Bay auto-theft suspect," 2 Aug. 2019 Asked how many of those officers planned to retire later this year, a spokesman said one sergeant had planned to retire prior to budget troubles. — Darcy Costello, The Courier-Journal, "Schools won't have LMPD resource officers come August. Who will replace them?," 15 July 2019 Between five and six minutes after the first report of the shooting, a highway patrol officer and sheriff’s sergeant, 29-year veteran Ron Helus, rushed into the bar, officials said. — Zusha Elinson, WSJ, "Police Probe Motive in Southern California Bar Massacre," 8 Nov. 2018 Dan Larsen, a sergeant with the Atherton Police Department, said in an interview Friday. — Casey Tolan, The Mercury News, "‘Very cloak-and-dagger’: Secrecy surrounds Trump’s Bay Area trip for fundraiser Tuesday," 15 Sep. 2019 Wes McBride, a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and former head of the California Gang Investigators Association, helped create CalGang. — NBC News, "He's a gang intervention worker. But California police call him a gang member.," 18 Aug. 2019 Stull, an Orange County sheriff’s sergeant, found a picture online of Reynolds, a Boynton Beach police officer. — Laurel Weibezahn, sun-sentinel.com, "Brothers find each other after decades apart — and they’re both cops," 2 Aug. 2019 Garcia ran away when officers attempted to speak with him, but then stopped and advanced on a sergeant with a knife, police said. — Dallas News, "Two men arrested after crash near UNT leads Denton police to 38 pounds of meth," 15 July 2019 The officer talked to the sergeant, looked at the video and arrested Ahmed. — Christine Dempsey, courant.com, "Off-duty sergeant leaves dinner to detain man touching himself in Middletown," 16 Sep. 2019

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

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First Known Use of sergeant

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for sergeant

Middle English, servant, attendant, sergeant, from Anglo-French sergant, serjant, from Latin servient-, serviens, present participle of servire to serve

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Statistics for sergeant

Last Updated

2 Nov 2019

Time Traveler for sergeant

The first known use of sergeant was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for sergeant

sergeant

noun
How to pronounce sergeant (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of sergeant

: an officer of low rank in the army or marines
: an officer in a police force with a rank below captain or lieutenant

See the full definition for sergeant in the English Language Learners Dictionary

sergeant

noun
ser·​geant | \ ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio) \

Kids Definition of sergeant

1 : a noncommissioned officer in the army or marine corps ranking above a corporal or in the air force ranking above an airman first class
2 : an officer in a police force

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More from Merriam-Webster on sergeant

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with sergeant

Spanish Central: Translation of sergeant

Nglish: Translation of sergeant for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of sergeant for Arabic Speakers

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