as in to guard
to walk or go around or through (an area, building, etc.) especially in order to make sure that it is safe
The squad had orders to patrol the area. The border is patrolled by the army.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of patrol
Katie Langford, Denver Post, 30 July 2025
Sports, patrol cleanliness and our multiple-legged competition, the Icosolon, also adds points to your patrol’s score.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 30 July 2025
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Bettison has said the uptick in teen violence the city has seen in recent weeks has slowed down since his department began cracking down on curfew, which also includes overtime for officers to patrol later into the night, but didn't immediately provide data.
—Andrea May Sahouri, Freep.com, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Verb
The state patrol does not use Signal chats anywhere else in the state, Trooper Sherri Mendez told The Denver Post.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 30 July 2025
Sports, patrol cleanliness and our multiple-legged competition, the Icosolon, also adds points to your patrol’s score.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 30 July 2025
Noun
Since 2021, Mexico has turned to deploying troops and local enforcement to patrol the beaches and tourist hot spots.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Bettison has said the uptick in teen violence the city has seen in recent weeks has slowed down since his department began cracking down on curfew, which also includes overtime for officers to patrol later into the night, but didn't immediately provide data.
—Andrea May Sahouri, Freep.com, 29 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrol
Verb
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The top priority–trumping everything else, including profits–is that all of us continue to zealously guard Berkshire’s reputation.—
Jane Swift,
Fortune,
6 Aug. 2025
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Agency employees are greeting the news, unveiled at an all hands meeting on Monday, with guarded optimism and relief.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The Clock Is Ticking On CISA Leadership The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is the nation’s digital sentry.—
Emil Sayegh,
Forbes.com,
27 July 2025
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Goff has taken it upon herself to be a sage and sentry of the past for the present.—
Andrea Bossi,
Essence,
8 July 2025
Verb
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The archipelago, protected as a national park, hums with quiet life—salt flats blush rose in the heat, and mangroves cradle herons in leafy stillness.—
Lewis Nunn,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Industry standards recommend replacing each after a certain amount of years to protect first responder.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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That’s because Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney World in Orlando have historically been the studio’s most popular outposts for travelers from the Middle East.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
17 Aug. 2025
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Israel is changing in ways that are challenging its image as an outpost of secular, liberal democracy in the Middle East.—
Marc Champion,
Twin Cities,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Will Smith is filming a music video in Los Angeles on Friday, despite a picket organized by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
23 May 2025
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More pickets are planned at a handful of supermarkets.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
8 June 2025
Noun
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There were two groups of commandos, each with 14 teams of four to six members.—
Yossi Melman,
ProPublica,
7 Aug. 2025
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Israel reportedly smuggled weapons into Iran that then took out air defenses—paving the way for Israeli warplanes—while commandos targeted anti-aircraft sites in central Iran.—
Ellie Cook,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Noun
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The weather service issues a flash flood watch when flash flooding is possible.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Meanwhile, YouTube, which is the most popular podcasting platform, launched its own top podcast charts in May and ranks shows weekly by watch time.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The north was expected to be America’s rear guard, a place where values like democracy and women’s rights might have taken hold.—
Azam Ahmed,
New York Times,
24 Dec. 2024
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And assassins from a coalition of all the local indigenous tribes — out for blood over the murder of Jimmy the Creek, one of their own, last episode — slit the throats of Ming’s rear guard.—
Sean T. Collins,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Patrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patrol. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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