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
Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
Some have expressed concerns that patrol officers would be taken out of the field to backfill certain desk jobs.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Katie Langford, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2025
Two officers, who were patrolling the area on the inaugural deployment of the department’s new e-bikes, apprehended the two suspects who attempted to throw away the duffle bag in a nearby dumpster.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
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.
Noun
Randy Haight – at the time a young patrol officer who was at the crime scene — met his partner at the hospital.
—Erin Moriarty, Liza Finley, CBS News, 4 May 2025
Some have expressed concerns that patrol officers would be taken out of the field to backfill certain desk jobs.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Verb
Parks and Recreation officials considered hiring Park Hill Dave to patrol golf courses after hours but nixed the idea because of his escape artist tendencies.
—Katie Langford, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2025
Two officers, who were patrolling the area on the inaugural deployment of the department’s new e-bikes, apprehended the two suspects who attempted to throw away the duffle bag in a nearby dumpster.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Apr. 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 9 May. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share