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.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of patrol
Stepheny Price , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Fennell, who rose through the ranks after joining the department as a patrol officer in 1957, was promoted to assistant chief by former Police Chief Bernard Sullivan in 1987.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Jan. 2026
Highway Patrol troopers patrolling roadways (Texas Department of Public Safety).
—Cbs Texas Staff, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Noun
Sutton said Minneapolis policing has collapsed since the 2020 unrest, noting the city is authorized for about 900 officers but now has roughly 550, with only around 265 patrol officers available to police the entire city.
—Stepheny Price , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Fennell, who rose through the ranks after joining the department as a patrol officer in 1957, was promoted to assistant chief by former Police Chief Bernard Sullivan in 1987.
—Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 27 Jan. 2026
Verb
While patrolling along the river near Tarrant County College’s Trinity River Campus, campus police found the body of an adult man in the river.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Jan. 2026
Highway Patrol troopers patrolling roadways (Texas Department of Public Safety).
—Cbs Texas Staff, CBS News, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrol
Noun
-
Kochab is the brighter of the two outer stars in the bowl of the Little Dipper (the other being Pherkad), which seem to march in a circle like sentries around Polaris, the North Star.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
14 Dec. 2025
-
The incident occurred while one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIB) was returning from its sentry duties off Bentinck Island.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
10 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
But her mother guards her fiercely, because even the most minor imbalance in her small, cloistered world could bring the seizures back again.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
After nearly two decades of on-off negotiations, the deal will pave the way for India to open up its vast and guarded market to free trade with the 27-nation EU, its biggest trading partner.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The lakeside metropolis’ green cred gets an eco-luxe boost with this first Canadian outpost of the 1 Hotels brand.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The diner currently operates outposts in downtown Austin, Oltorf Street and Burnet Road.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
As a recent Forbes analysis on AI and internal controls underscores, when technology reshapes how money moves, CFOs become responsible not just for managing risk, but for preserving the control structures that protect enterprise value.—
Geri Stengel,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
During Wednesday morning's hearing, the former detainees testified remotely from their home countries using translators and only their initials to protect their identities.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Or are the neighbor's dogs enjoying the gap between two pickets?—
Josh Kelly,
Oklahoman,
16 Jan. 2026
-
The two were invited by Blue Cross to relocate the 30-minute picket — which featured a brief but coordinated step-tap dance number — from a grassy easement.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
3 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Day in, day out, American planes, drones, and commando teams go out and hunt terrorists across several continents.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
29 Jan. 2026
-
That turns out to be a mistake, since a commando team soon storms his island with orders to kill him on sight.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
More than 28 million people across the Southeast are under winter storm watches and warnings, including parts of northern Georgia, the Carolinas and southern Virginia.—
Briana Waxman,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Frankie Muniz isn't afraid to be everyone's comfort watch.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
