sergeant

American  

[sahr-juhnt] / ˈsɑr dʒənt /

especially British, serjeant

noun

• sergeants
  plural

1. a noncommissioned army officer of a rank above that of corporal.

2. U.S. Air Force. any noncommissioned officer above the rank of airman first class.

3. a police officer ranking immediately below a captain or a lieutenant in the U.S. and immediately below an inspector in Britain.

4. a title of a particular office or function at the court of a monarch (often used in combination).

   sergeant of the larder; sergeant-caterer.

5. sergeant at arms.

6. Also called sergeant at law. British. (formerly) a member of a superior order of barristers.

7. sergeantfish.

8. (initial capital letter) a surface-to-surface, single-stage, U.S. ballistic missile.

9. a tenant by military service, below the rank of knight.

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sergeant British  

/ ˈsɑːdʒənt /

noun

1. a noncommissioned officer in certain armed forces, usually ranking above a corporal

2. 1. (in Britain) a police officer ranking between constable and inspector

   2. (in the US) a police officer ranking below a captain

3. See sergeant at arms

4. a court or municipal officer who has ceremonial duties

5. (formerly) a tenant by military service, not of knightly rank

6. See serjeant at law

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sergeancy
  noun
• sergeantship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sergeants
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sergeant

1150–1200; Middle English sergant, serjant, serjaunt < Old French sergent < Latin servient- (stem of serviēns ), present participle of servīre. See serve, -ent

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Explanation

Sergeant describes a certain rank for a police or military officer. If you've been promoted to sergeant, congratulations are in order. Sergeant comes from the Old French sergent and originally from the Latin verb servire meaning "to serve," as in "to serve and protect," a police sergeant's job. Remember that sergeant is spelled with an "e" after the "s" (it's often misspelled with an "a").

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sergeant sergeants

While the sergeant stopped to investigate, police dispatchers were simultaneously getting 911 calls about the incident, according to the release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

The beast and the retired command sergeant major know each other better than they know anyone else, and they don’t particularly need anyone else.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Since October there have been six police officers and a sergeant based in the town, and she said incidents of shoplifting had fallen.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The following day, police sergeant Sidney Short served him with a summons.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

At one point, Tom and the sergeant paused at a store to get provisions.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

“Every day witnessed the promotion of sergeants or even corporals to company and battalion commanders.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

The Americans killed in the Palmyra attack last weekend were Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a civilian from Michigan who worked as an interpreter.

From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025

Its drill sergeants are on Cam and the rest of his new platoon like flies on dung from the moment they wake until they go to sleep.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2025

He said all 16 custody sergeants and all 34 designated detention officers were being moved to other sites.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025

Colonel Jerry Jaax called a meeting of all the commissioned officers on his staff, along with two sergeants.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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Related Words

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