patrol
[puh-trohl]
- (of a police officer, soldier, etc.) to pass along a road, beat, etc., or around or through a specified area in order to maintain order and security.
- to maintain the order and security of (a road, beat, area, etc.) by passing along or through it.
- a person or group of persons assigned to patrol an area, road, etc.
- an automobile, ship, plane, squadron, fleet, etc., assigned to patrol an area.
- Military. a detachment of two or more persons, often a squad or platoon, detailed for reconnaissance or combat.
- the act of patrolling.
- patrol wagon.
- (in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) a subdivision of a troop, usually consisting of about eight members.
Origin of patrol
1655–65; < French patrouille (noun), patrouiller (v.) patrol, originally a pawing (noun), to paw (v.) in mud; derivative (with suffixal -ouille) of patte paw; -r- unexplained
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for patrol
Contemporary Examples
“They just walk around, they ride in their patrol cars, and they just pass by,” he said.
Brinsley stepped up to the passenger side of the patrol car, raised a silver Taurus semi-automatic pistol and began firing.
Lewis and the men he was with were given a goat and chicken that they were expected to kill and eat while on patrol.
On Southland, McKenzie played Ben Sherman, a patrol officer on the mean streets of Los Angeles.
Ben McKenzie’s Journey From Reluctant Teen Idol on ‘The O.C.’ to Sheriff of ‘Gotham’Marlow Stern
November 4, 2014
But uniformed guards do not patrol the halls of even the highest-risk units.
Historical Examples
Scarcely a night went by without its patrol or ambulance case.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
The men in the canoe were surely keen of eye, and they must be a patrol.
The Rock of ChickamaugaJoseph A. Altsheler
I set off with all speed, and when I arrived there was a Prussian patrol at the cottage.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other TalesGuy De Maupassant
Possibly, after all, the man was merely a patrol from some outlying station.
The Law-BreakersRidgwell Cullum
I'll tell you what you might do, Chance: you might patrol the roads on the edge of town.
Sure Pop and the Safety ScoutsRoy Rutherford Bailey
patrol
- the action of going through or around a town, neighbourhood, etc, at regular intervals for purposes of security or observation
- a person or group that carries out such an action
- a military detachment with the mission of security, gathering information, or combat with enemy forces
- a division of a troop of Scouts or Guides
- to engage in a patrol of (a place)
Word Origin
C17: from French patrouiller, from patouiller to flounder in mud, from patte paw
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for patrol
n.
1660s, "action of going the rounds" (of a military camp, etc.), from French patrouille "a night watch" (1530s), from patrouiller "go the rounds to watch or guard," originally "tramp through the mud," probably soldiers' slang, from Old French patouiller "paddle in water," probably from pate "paw, foot" (see patten). Compare paddlefoot, World War II U.S. Army slang for "infantry soldier." Meaning "those who go on a patrol" is from 1660s. Sense of "detachment of soldiers sent out to scout the countryside, the enemy, etc." is attested from 1702.
v.
1690s, from patrol (n.) and in part from French patrouiller. Related: Patrolled; patrolling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper