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Synonyms

gendarme

American  
[zhahn-dahrm, zhahn-darm] / ˈʒɑn dɑrm, ʒɑ̃ˈdarm /

noun

plural

gendarmes

  1. a police officer in any of several European countries, especially a French police officer.

  2. a soldier, especially in France, serving in an army group acting as armed police with authority over civilians.

  3. (formerly) a cavalryman in charge of a French cavalry squad.

gendarme British  
/ ʒɑ̃darm, ˈʒɒndɑːm /

noun

  1. a member of the police force in France or in countries formerly influenced or controlled by France

  2. a slang word for a policeman

  3. a sharp pinnacle of rock on a mountain ridge, esp in the Alps

"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

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.

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

The boat was rescued from there by the Senegalese gendarme and brought to Saint-Louis.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2023

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

After the news, a gendarme would come and turn off the television set, taking home the key.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

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.