: an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties (such as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)
Examples of sheriff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The day Hanceville’s police department was eliminated, a switch was flicked in a dispatch center at the county sheriff’s office in Cullman.
—
Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
As Farthing was assisting in traffic control, a man approached him from behind and stabbed him in the back, sheriff's office spokesperson Kim Peters said in a news release.
—Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Feb. 2026
Nancy Guthrie spent Saturday night eating dinner and playing games with family members before one of them dropped her off at her home in a well-to-do Tucson neighborhood that sits on hilly, desert terrain, the sheriff said.
—Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
The sheriff leading the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie acknowledged that missteps were made in the case’s early hours, including removing crime scene tape and delaying requests for assistance from outside law enforcement agencies.
—Stepheny Price , Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sheriff
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Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
As Farthing was assisting in traffic control, a man approached him from behind and stabbed him in the back, sheriff's office spokesperson Kim Peters said in a news release.
—Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Feb. 2026
Nancy Guthrie spent Saturday night eating dinner and playing games with family members before one of them dropped her off at her home in a well-to-do Tucson neighborhood that sits on hilly, desert terrain, the sheriff said.
—Arkansas Online, 6 Feb. 2026
The sheriff leading the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie acknowledged that missteps were made in the case’s early hours, including removing crime scene tape and delaying requests for assistance from outside law enforcement agencies.
—Stepheny Price , Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sheriff
Cite this Entry
“Sheriff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sheriff. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sheriff
noun
sher·iff
ˈsher-əf 
: an official of a county who is in charge of enforcing the law
Etymology
Middle English shirreve "sheriff," from Old English scīrgerēfa "sheriff," from scīr "shire, county" and gerēfa "a government agent"
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