gendarme
Americannoun
-
gendarmes
plural
-
a police officer in any of several European countries, especially a French police officer.
-
a soldier, especially in France, serving in an army group acting as armed police with authority over civilians.
-
(formerly) a cavalryman in charge of a French cavalry squad.
noun
-
a member of the police force in France or in countries formerly influenced or controlled by France
-
a slang word for a policeman
-
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
“Closed. You’ll have to walk around,” a French gendarme had just told them, gesturing towards the south.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2024
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
Dinghies used by migrants to try to cross the channel are seen at the French gendarme brigade in Marquise, France, August 20, 2020.
From Reuters ● Jul. 23, 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
Almost 2,000 people were arrested on Thursday alone and 305 police officers and gendarmes were injured, according to the Interior Ministry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Eighty-three police officers and gendarmes were wounded on Wednesday during the protests, which affected a total of 356 schools, he added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
"In 20 years, and despite the resolute efforts of our police officers, gendarmes, judges, teachers and elected officials, the antisemitic hydra has kept advancing," he said.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Eventually two French gendarmes spotted them through the undergrowth and walked, slowly, forwards.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2025
A week after we heard that he had been caught by the field gendarmes, those despicable military police.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
