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
“Closed. You’ll have to walk around,” a French gendarme had just told them, gesturing towards the south.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2024
The boat was rescued from there by the Senegalese gendarme and brought to Saint-Louis.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023
Wright also added that a gendarme caught on film with a firearm would be identified and prosecuted.
From Reuters ● Oct. 21, 2022
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
Nearly 6,000 police and gendarmes have been deployed for security during the celebrations on Sunday.
From Barron's ● May 31, 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
Under the terms of engagement, gendarmes will only intervene to stop "taxi-boats" before they take on migrants – and not when they are fully charged.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
The Jubillar mystery began at the height of Covid lockdown when – in the early hours on 16 December 2020 – Cédric Jubillar contacted the gendarmes to report that his wife had gone missing.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 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.
