as in guarding
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 patrolling
Those costs mainly came from responding to protests and patrolling hotels.
—
Frankie McLister, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Grapevine police will soon be patrolling more than just the city’s streets.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Mar. 2026
In addition to regular forces, thousands of temporary police officers have been deployed, and army troops — generally confined to barracks — are patrolling streets and guarding polling stations.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Seibert, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 18 years, patrolling Eagle for the past six, watches the weekend travelers inch their way south from getaways in McCall and Cascade home to the suburbs of Boise.
—Rose Evans
updated March 3, Idaho Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
Bobby Dube spent 32 years patrolling the Keys for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before retiring four years ago.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2026
As the season has gone on, the team’s defense has become so coordinated that Wembanyama spends games just patrolling the paint.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
But there were no signs of protests on Sunday in Tehran, with security forces patrolling mostly empty streets while people sheltered inside, witnesses told The Associated Press.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Some early border fences, which went up immediately after the end of the Second World War, were taken from Japanese internment camps; after the war, the Border Patrol received surplus airplanes to make patrolling easier.
—Garrett M. Graff, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Frankie McLister, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Grapevine police will soon be patrolling more than just the city’s streets.
—Fousia Abdullahi, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Mar. 2026
In addition to regular forces, thousands of temporary police officers have been deployed, and army troops — generally confined to barracks — are patrolling streets and guarding polling stations.
—ABC News, 4 Mar. 2026
Seibert, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 18 years, patrolling Eagle for the past six, watches the weekend travelers inch their way south from getaways in McCall and Cascade home to the suburbs of Boise.
—Rose Evans
updated March 3, Idaho Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
Bobby Dube spent 32 years patrolling the Keys for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before retiring four years ago.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 3 Mar. 2026
As the season has gone on, the team’s defense has become so coordinated that Wembanyama spends games just patrolling the paint.
—Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
But there were no signs of protests on Sunday in Tehran, with security forces patrolling mostly empty streets while people sheltered inside, witnesses told The Associated Press.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Some early border fences, which went up immediately after the end of the Second World War, were taken from Japanese internment camps; after the war, the Border Patrol received surplus airplanes to make patrolling easier.
—Garrett M. Graff, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrolling
Verb
-
In addition to regular forces, thousands of temporary police officers have been deployed, and army troops — generally confined to barracks — are patrolling streets and guarding polling stations.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The Founders did not anticipate that lawmakers, instead of jealously guarding their legislative authority, would prefer to leave the president holding the bag in case military action turns out to be unpopular.—
Adam Serwer,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Your quick mind can broker peace between different opinions while still protecting your energy.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The analyst explained that as agentic AI becomes embedded across business operations, companies might prefer security tool consolidation for dealing with cyberattacks, as relying on conventional, fragmented tools may not be effective in protecting autonomous systems.—
TipRanks.com Staff,
CNBC,
8 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Patrolling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patrolling. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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