stand sentinel

idiom

: to stand in a row like soldiers

The trees stand sentinel on the cliffs.

Examples of stand sentinel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Its grounds abide across the ages the same way its trees − some older than the United States, some memorializing the service and sacrifice of the people buried there − continue to stand sentinel. —Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 27 May 2025

In that vein, ballistic missiles were designed to stand sentinel over a future where nuclear arms would never again be fired in anger. —Brad Lendon, CNN, 22 Nov. 2024

Cactuses stand sentinel between a bank of windows and a banquette made of cinder blocks, a design detail common in Lebanon, says co-owner Nayef Issa. —Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 21 July 2023

Tall green arborvitaes stand sentinel around the grounds of the picture-perfect Better Homes & Gardens Test Garden®, keeping watch over the half-acre space full of colorful plants and gardening inspiration. —Jeanne Ambrose, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Mar. 2023

Birds on the same limb stand sentinel together. —Yael Martínez, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2022

Today, its imposing black walls and gray, tiered roofs stand sentinel over a bottle-green perimeter moat in the heart of Matsue's old quarter. —CNN, 19 Jan. 2022

Two enormous palm trees stand sentinel on either end of the pool, bare and brown. —Justin Torres, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2021

That’s the Kinyarwandan name for the eight volcanoes — two active, six dormant — that stand sentinel over the tripartite border of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. —Washington Post, 23 Apr. 2021

Rhymes for stand sentinel

• dentinal