gendarme
Americannoun
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a police officer in any of several European countries, especially a French police officer.
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a soldier, especially in France, serving in an army group acting as armed police with authority over civilians.
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(formerly) a cavalryman in charge of a French cavalry squad.
noun
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a member of the police force in France or in countries formerly influenced or controlled by France
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a slang word for a policeman
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a sharp pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge, esp in the Alps
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gendarme
1540–50; < Middle French, earlier gens d'armes, alteration of gent d'armes people at arms
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:
Outside, TV crews stood at the ready and a comedian dressed as a gendarme sold “genuine fake Swiss passports.”
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
Mr Darmanin also said the officer had also "dirtied and spat on the uniform of the Republic and his 250,000 other police and gendarme colleagues".
From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2024
Wright also added that a gendarme caught on film with a firearm would be identified and prosecuted.
From Reuters ● Oct. 21, 2022
After 35 years of digging, investigators determined that the suspect had worked as a gendarme in the Paris region between 1986 and 1994, and summoned 750 current or former officers for questioning this week.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2021
On most nights, the people stayed at the site long after this gendarme had gone and told stories to one another beneath the big blank screen.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
"The gendarmes knocked on every door," said Boisvert, adding they left by car with their two children, aged five and two.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Nearly 16,000 French police, gendarmes, troops, firefighters and border guards will be deployed, using boats, motorcycles and drones, alongside mounted police and dog-handling units, France's Haute-Savoie regional prefecture said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
He said around 250,000 people drew a living from the trade in France – more than the entire number of police and gendarmes, which is 230,000.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
"Let's go in," said one of the gendarmes, pulling off his body armour, and taking out a small knife.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2025
By 1 A.M., the gendarmes have lost control, and no trains have arrived or departed in over four hours.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
