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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of patrol
Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2025
Officials at the patrol’s South Lake Tahoe office announced the fatality on Tuesday.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Tom Bowman, NPR, 11 Apr. 2025
Volunteer fathers patrol hallways as part of Dads on Duty.
—Jackie Valley, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Noun
The person who was killed hit the patrol vehicle from behind and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2025
Officials at the patrol’s South Lake Tahoe office announced the fatality on Tuesday.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Verb
Caine is a career fighter jet pilot who patrolled the skies above Washington, D.C., immediately after the 9/11 attacks, served in the Middle East during the fight against the Islamic State and then worked at the CIA.
—Tom Bowman, NPR, 11 Apr. 2025
Volunteer fathers patrol hallways as part of Dads on Duty.
—Jackie Valley, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for patrol
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrol
Noun
-
The snout of a curious whale and the muzzle of a four-legged sentry came oh-so close.—
Alexis Simendinger,
The Hill,
7 Apr. 2025
-
In the early hours of April 21, 1775, gale-force winds whipped across the town square, driving the shivering sentries from their posts to the shelter of their beds.—
Andrew Lawler,
Smithsonian Magazine,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Specifically, the Swiss Guard accompanies the pope to public appearances, guards Vatican City and protects the College of Cardinals during a conclave (the election of a new pope), according to The Holy See.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
-
The pick needs to be a hit for a team that, since 2008, has had only three first-round picks selected to the Pro Bowl (not added as an alternate): linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Kyle Fuller and guard Kyle Long.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Few, however, deliver on that promise quite as literally as the new Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing, the brand's second outpost in the Chinese capital.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Apr. 2025
-
But the inclusion of these uninhabited volcanic outposts raised eyebrows.—
Arick Wierson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Open for just 24 hours, starting April 24, the project is meant to humanize the harms of social media use among young children and call for governments and private companies to act urgently to protect online spaces for young users.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
-
The mitts feature a long cuff to protect your arms from the heat.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Several picket signs were decorated with messaging against Musk and President Donald Trump.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Tuesday’s demonstration served as a precursor to an informational picket scheduled for Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. outside the California Department of Human Resources.—
William Melhado,
Sacramento Bee,
12 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
But the 2019 clash, and an earlier 2016 raid by Indian commandos across the Line of Control after a militant attack on one of their Jammu and Kashmir headquarters, demonstrated that retaliatory strikes need not escalate to nuclear exchange.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando (1987) is about a strangely hilarious killing machine who dispatches dozens of less talented commandos to hell to rescue his daughter, played by sitcom star Alyssa Milano.—
John DeVore,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Many of them have been living and working in South Florida after being sponsored by relatives to come to the United States to apply for asylum or other protections instead of trying to get in through the U.S.-Mexico border, where a migrant crisis erupted during the Biden administration’s watch.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2025
-
Under his watch, the homicide rate dropped from 46.18 per 100,000 people in 2023, to 38.76 per 100,000 people in 2024.—
Regina Garcia Cano,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share