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
Examples of patrol in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Barak Ravid, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024
The doc also takes in events in July 1975 when three members of Ireland’s most popular showband, The Miami, were killed by a British Army patrol in Northern Ireland.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2024
Tom Tapp, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2024
California Woman who drowned her three children ruled insane by judge
Oct. 17, 2024
The crash took place around 9:47 p.m. when sheriff’s deputies assigned to a gang unit were patrolling southeast Fresno.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for patrol 
Noun
An infantry unit of 19-year old soldiers who were on routine patrol in the area exchanged fire with three armed militants and killed them.
—Barak Ravid, Axios, 17 Oct. 2024
The doc also takes in events in July 1975 when three members of Ireland’s most popular showband, The Miami, were killed by a British Army patrol in Northern Ireland.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2024
Verb
Elsewhere, on Atlanta resident was caught on video using a sleeping air mattress as a life raft as rescue workers patrolled the chest-high floodwaters saving people.
—Tom Tapp, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2024
California Woman who drowned her three children ruled insane by judge
Oct. 17, 2024
The crash took place around 9:47 p.m. when sheriff’s deputies assigned to a gang unit were patrolling southeast Fresno.
—Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for patrol
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patrol.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Patrol.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patrol. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
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