marshal
Americannoun
-
marshals
plural
-
a military officer of the highest rank, as in the French and some other armies.
-
an administrative officer of a U.S. judicial district who performs duties similar to those of a sheriff.
-
a court officer serving processes, attending court, giving personal service to the judges, etc.
-
the chief of a police or fire department in some cities.
-
a police officer in some communities.
-
a higher officer of a royal household or court.
-
an official charged with the arrangement or regulation of ceremonies, parades, etc..
the marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade.
verb (used with object)
-
marshals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marshaled,
past participle, past
-
marshalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
marshaling,
present participle
-
marshalling
present participle (especially British)
-
to arrange in proper order; set out in an orderly manner; arrange clearly.
to marshal facts; to marshal one's arguments.
- Antonyms:
- scatter
-
to array, as for battle.
-
to usher or lead ceremoniously.
Their host marshaled them into the room.
-
Heraldry. to combine (two or more coats of arms) on a single escutcheon.
noun
-
(in some armies and air forces) an officer of the highest rank
-
(in England) an officer, usually a junior barrister, who accompanies a judge on circuit and performs miscellaneous secretarial duties
-
-
a Federal court officer assigned to a judicial district whose functions are similar to those of a sheriff
-
(in some states) the chief police or fire officer
-
-
an officer who organizes or conducts ceremonies, parades, etc
-
Also called: knight marshal. (formerly in England) an officer of the royal family or court, esp one in charge of protocol
-
an obsolete word for ostler
verb
-
to arrange in order
to marshal the facts
-
to assemble and organize (troops, vehicles, etc) prior to onward movement
-
to arrange (assets, mortgages, etc) in order of priority
-
to guide or lead, esp in a ceremonious way
-
to combine (two or more coats of arms) on one shield
Synonym Usage
See gather.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
marshalcynoun
-
marshalernoun
-
marshallernoun
-
marshalshipnoun
-
submarshalnoun
-
undermarshalnoun
-
remarshalverb (used with object)
-
unmarshaledadjective
-
unmarshalledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
marshalsimple
-
marshalssimple
-
have marshaledperfect
-
have marshalledperfect
-
has marshaledperfect
-
has marshalledperfect
-
am marshalingprogressive
-
am marshallingprogressive
-
are marshalingprogressive
-
are marshallingprogressive
-
is marshalingprogressive
-
is marshallingprogressive
-
have been marshalingperfect progressive
-
have been marshallingperfect progressive
-
has been marshalingperfect progressive
-
has been marshallingperfect progressive
Past
-
marshaledsimple
-
marshalledsimple
-
had marshaledperfect
-
had marshalledperfect
-
was marshalingprogressive
-
was marshallingprogressive
-
were marshalingprogressive
-
were marshallingprogressive
-
had been marshalingperfect progressive
-
had been marshallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of marshal
1225–75; Middle English marshal, syncopated variant of mareschal < Old French < Germanic; compare Old High German marahscalh groom, equivalent to marah horse ( see mare 1) + scalh servant, cognate with Old English scealc
Explanation
A federal marshal knocks on your door. You panic: a marshal is a law officer. What do you do? You marshal your thoughts, that is, put them in order. Marshal derives from the Old French mareschal, for stable officer. The stable officer had charge of the horses, tending to them, putting them in order, readying them for action. If you are a marshal, you're an officer. If you marshal yourself, you get yourself ready, preparing for action.
Vocabulary lists containing marshal
Content Summary G.1: Principles of Geography
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Odyssey
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Last Olympian
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He has already been promoted to field marshal and chief of defense forces, a role that gives him authority over the air force and navy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
For the last 19 years, student-loan lender Sallie Mae has commissioned a study on how families marshal all the economic forces at their disposal to pay for college.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
The US president refers to Munir as his "favourite field marshal", following their acquaintance in the aftermath of conflict with India that Trump helped mediate last year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The position was created by statute in the 1800s; the marshal serves as the chief of police for the court, attends each court session, and handles ministerial duties, like paying the justices and their staffs.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
Storrs ordered her to be held by the marshal until the grand jury met in January.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
On Thursday, federal marshals in Miami took the Tates into custody.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Husseini says there are simply not enough marshals to cover all the terminals.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Antonelli had just made his pit stop when the VSC was deployed to allow marshals to recover some debris from the track.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
A casual wave from the marshals and then Nicolson stomped the accelerator, really hard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Two days after publication, Victoria Woodhull and her sister Tennessee Claflin were distributing three thousand copies of the paper around town when US marshals stopped them.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
New York City’s charismatic mayor, Zohran Mamdani, won his election as a DSA member in 2025 and has since marshaled political support for fellow progressives running for other offices in the city he runs.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
But rather than reacting rashly, he marshaled a tenacious defense, not losing his composure or allowing himself to be tempted into a hotheaded action that could have led to disaster.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
In many places she chooses to undercut the image of the lone genius, sovereign over his book-lined study and carefully marshaled pens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Even the Treasury’s pivot toward heavier Treasury bill financing points to a world in which market structure, regulation, and innovation are quietly being marshaled to sustain an ever-larger debt load.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
The military provided the model for the chain of command; enlisted men and women were marshaled daily by their superior officers into a battle of wills with the mass of angry and resentful prisoners.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
For months, faith-based and secular groups there have marshalled thousands of volunteers to prepare for a potential mass deportation event they fear could result in a humanitarian crisis.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
They have created the infrastructure and marshalled the resources for an intergenerational struggle.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
Coming in at number six, Gardner marshalled partnerships of 64 and 69 with Tahlia McGrath and Kim Garth, before being caught behind off Bree Illing.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
Argentina hit back with two scores of their own but, marshalled by the superb George Ford on his 100th cap, England showed composure and defensive fortitude to keep their hosts in check.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2025
The indefatigable bell now sounded for the fourth time: the classes were marshalled and marched into another room to breakfast: how glad I was to behold a prospect of getting something to eat!
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
These fall upon the reader more as an unsifted data dump than as a focused marshaling of evidence in aid of human and psychological insight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
The initiative, described as the largest marshaling of federal scientific resources since Apollo, will require significant computing power.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
Rather, it is a portrait of an artist at work, marshaling tremendous resources at great personal expense in pursuit of a result that remains elusive, perhaps to himself most of all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
In South Korea, the country’s sprawling family-run conglomerates turbocharged the "Miracle on the Han River" by marshaling capital, technology and labor to industrialize the country at breakneck speed.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2024
The same is true for marshaled and marshaling.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
At the heart of it all was the magnificent Gabriel, repelling all Brighton's borders and marshalling resources with his outstanding central defensive partner William Saliba missing through injury.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
Trains pulled in every 15 or 20 minutes, as many as the endlessly enterprising operators of Ukraine's railway network could find in the sidings and marshalling yards.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Accurate CFRs are critically important in an outbreak because marshalling a public health response depends on understanding the disease’s severity.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2024
Joachim Andersen, the only recognised centre-back in the visitors' XI, was supreme in marshalling a back three that also contained full-back Clyne and midfielder Jefferson Lerma.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2024
All through the frieze are magistrates and heralds marshalling the order of the procession.
From A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2) by A. H. Smith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
