1
a
: the action of traversing a district or beat or of going the rounds along a chain of guards for observation or the maintenance of security
b
: the person performing such an action
c
: a unit of persons or vehicles employed for reconnaissance, security, or combat
2
: a subdivision of a Boy Scout troop or Girl Scout troop
patrolled; patrolling
: to carry out a patrol
: to carry out a patrol of
patroller
noun
Examples of patrol in a Sentence
Noun
The guard makes a patrol of the building every hour.
Soldiers are on patrol along the border.
Army patrols combed the area.
Verb
The squad had orders to patrol the area.
The border is patrolled by the army.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Ford dropped it from the Explorer’s retail lineup, but continues to offer it in police vehicles, which benefit from its ability to power AC and other accessories without running the engine when parked, as patrol vehicles often spend lots of time doing.
—Mark Phelan, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Melissa Galbraith, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Kansas City police officers and an internal security team will be on hand at each attraction and to patrol the area.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
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Noun
Mop-up and patrol will continue where appropriate to secure and strengthen containment.
—Ca Wildfire Bot, Sacbee.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Ford dropped it from the Explorer’s retail lineup, but continues to offer it in police vehicles, which benefit from its ability to power AC and other accessories without running the engine when parked, as patrol vehicles often spend lots of time doing.
—Mark Phelan, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
Hours after the shooting at Utah Valley University, officers with machine guns patrolled the campus as students began to process their shock.
—Melissa Galbraith, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Kansas City police officers and an internal security team will be on hand at each attraction and to patrol the area.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Cite this Entry
“Patrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patrol. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
patrol
1 of 2 noun
pa·trol
pə-ˈtrōl 
1
a
: the action of going the rounds of an area for observation or guard
b
: the person or group doing the patrolling
2
: a part of a Boy Scout or Girl Scout troop
patrol
2 of 2 verb
patrolled; patrolling
: to carry out a patrol or a patrol of
patroller
noun
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