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
Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025
Recent immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area sparked widespread protests and small riots downtown, as people threw rocks at law enforcement and set patrol vehicles on fire, and federal agents responded with tear gas and pepper spray.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Daniel Rivero, Miami Herald, 22 July 2025
Newton police officers could be seen patrolling the area early Saturday afternoon.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Verb
They were first spotted by military patrol and then handed over to the police.
—Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 June 2025
Recent immigration sweeps in the Los Angeles area sparked widespread protests and small riots downtown, as people threw rocks at law enforcement and set patrol vehicles on fire, and federal agents responded with tear gas and pepper spray.
—Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 28 June 2025
Noun
And taxpayers have indirectly subsidized the private train company through federal grants to sheriff’s offices — for deputies to patrol Brightline’s tracks for trespassing pedestrians.
—Daniel Rivero, Miami Herald, 22 July 2025
Newton police officers could be seen patrolling the area early Saturday afternoon.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrol
Verb
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In her later years, Toklas carefully guarded Stein’s legacy, rebuffing, and sometimes actively thwarting, biographers.—
Anna Russell,
New Yorker,
28 July 2025
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The world’s largest Superman statue guards the town square near the Super Museum with more than 20,000 Superman artifacts.—
Joe Yogerst,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
Noun
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Effectively the solar cell allows the drone to act as a CCTV sentry during daylight hours, saving battery power for when a target is spotted.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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The tree had long been a way marker and memory maker: a site of wedding proposals and remembrance ceremonies, a sentry in photos from one-in-a-lifetime family vacations, taped to fridges across the world.—
Amelia Nierenberg,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Experts recommend proactive zoning regulations to manage data center growth and protect communities from potential negative impacts. Data centers, the physical hubs helping power the modern digital world, appear headed for Kentucky.—
Matthew Glowicki,
The Courier-Journal,
30 July 2025
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The other eight units protected by the reserve are: How did the museum designers choose Mill Bluff?—
Sofia Joseph,
jsonline.com,
30 July 2025
Noun
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Reykjavik is a quirky, colorful and surprisingly cosmopolitan outpost on the edge of the Arctic that offers much more than a launchpad to Iceland’s volcanic landscapes.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
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But those who are lucky enough to score a reservation (or find themselves with a Nairobi layover while visiting other Safari Collection outposts) receive access to The Retreat at Giraffe Manor.—
DeMarco Williams,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
Noun
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More pickets are planned at a handful of supermarkets.—
Pat Maio,
Oc Register,
8 June 2025
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The International Brotherhood of Teamsters helped coordinate a picket effort at nine Amazon facilities in December.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2025
Noun
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One clip shows at least two commandos reportedly launching missiles inside Iran, while other footage shows steady, homed-in hits to Iran’s defense systems.—
Elizabeth Crisp,
The Hill,
13 June 2025
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The remaining five defendants are charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Haiti’s leader and related charges, including recruiting the Colombian commandos.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2025
Noun
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With its minimalist rectangular face and refined proportions, the Carino watch by Heaven Mayhem adds just enough polish to bare wrists peeking from oversized shirt cuffs.—
Angela Lei,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
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The National Weather Service in Louisville has issued a flood watch through 8 p.m. July 21 for several Kentucky and Southern Indiana cities and counties.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
21 July 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 4 Aug. 2025.
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