sheriff

noun

sher·​iff ˈsher-əf 

: an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties (such as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)

sheriffdom

ˈsher-əf-dəm 

-təm

noun

Examples of sheriff in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The man, who was not named, holed up for at least three hours inside the house as sheriff’s deputies waited outside for a SWAT team to arrive. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 22 Dec. 2025

In a statement, Clay County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sarah Boyd said the Smithville Police Department was the lead agency on the case, and the sheriff’s office provided a detective (Bedow) and technical support. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 21 Dec. 2025

The agency urged people with additional information about the escape to contact the sheriff's office or Crime Stoppers, an anonymous crime tip reporting program. —Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 21 Dec. 2025

The sheriff's office said Detention Service Officer Dakendrick Traylor was involved in an off-duty motorcycle accident this week and was killed. —Briauna Brown, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English shirreve, from Old English scīrgerēfa, from scīr shire + gerēfa reeve — more at shire, reeve

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sheriff

• sherif
• tariff
• nontariff

Kids 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"

Legal Definition

sheriff

noun

sher·​iff

: an official of a county or parish charged primarily with judicial duties (as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)

Etymology

Old English scīrgerēfa, from scīr shire + gerēfa reeve (king's agent)