sergeant

noun

ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt 

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

In 1935, Qassam and two of his followers ambushed a group of British Mandate policemen, murdering a Jewish sergeant. —Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025

An off-duty sheriff’s sergeant listening to the radio call spotted the suspect vehicle driving south on Timberlane Way. —City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025

The defendants included Gary Cederquist, a friend of Camara, who was the sergeant in charge of the Mass State Police’s CDL unit. —Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 9 Sep. 2025

Miss Vermont, a 27-year-old Army National Guard sergeant, will compete in the Miss America pageant on Sunday. —Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sergeaunt, seriaunt, sergaunt, sargeaunt "servant, attendant, foot soldier, officer of a town, a court, or the royal household, holder of a sergeancy," borrowed from Anglo-French (also continental Old French sergant), going back to early Medieval Latin servient-, serviens "servant," going back to Latin, present participle of serviō, servīre "to perform duties for (a master) in the capacity of a slave, serve entry 1"

Note: The word sergeant is in effect a doublet of servant, both ultimately descending from the present participle of Latin servīre. The two words are already distinct in some manuscripts of the eleventh-century Old French Vie de saint Alexis, with sergant referring to a trusted servant of a noble household, servant simply to one serving God. The usual pronunciation of English sergeant exemplifies the late Middle English change of /ɛr/ to /ar/ before a consonant, which is not reflected in the standard spelling.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing sergeant

• chief master sergeant
• chief master sergeant of the air force
• command sergeant major
• drill sergeant
• first sergeant
• gunnery sergeant
• master gunnery sergeant
• master sergeant
• platoon sergeant
• senior master sergeant
• sergeant at arms
• sergeant first class
• sergeant fish
• sergeant major
• sergeant major of the army
• sergeant major of the marine corps
• staff sergeant
• staff sergeant major
• technical sergeant
• top sergeant

Rhymes for sergeant

• argent

Kids Definition

sergeant

noun

ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt 

1

: a military noncommissioned officer with any of the ranks above corporal in the army or the marines or above airman first class in the air force

especially : an enlisted person with the rank just below that of staff sergeant

2

: a police officer ranking in the U.S. just below captain or sometimes lieutenant

Etymology

Middle English sergeant "sergeant, attendant, servant," from early French sergent, serjant (same meaning), from Latin servient-, serviens, a form of the verb servire "to serve"