marshal
Americannoun
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marshals
plural
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a military officer of the highest rank, as in the French and some other armies.
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an administrative officer of a U.S. judicial district who performs duties similar to those of a sheriff.
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a court officer serving processes, attending court, giving personal service to the judges, etc.
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the chief of a police or fire department in some cities.
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a police officer in some communities.
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a higher officer of a royal household or court.
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an official charged with the arrangement or regulation of ceremonies, parades, etc..
the marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade.
verb (used with object)
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marshals,
present (3rd person singular)
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marshaled,
past participle, past
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marshalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
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marshaling,
present participle
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marshalling
present participle (especially British)
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to arrange in proper order; set out in an orderly manner; arrange clearly.
to marshal facts; to marshal one's arguments.
- Antonyms:
- scatter
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to array, as for battle.
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to usher or lead ceremoniously.
Their host marshaled them into the room.
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Heraldry. to combine (two or more coats of arms) on a single escutcheon.
noun
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(in some armies and air forces) an officer of the highest rank
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(in England) an officer, usually a junior barrister, who accompanies a judge on circuit and performs miscellaneous secretarial duties
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a Federal court officer assigned to a judicial district whose functions are similar to those of a sheriff
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(in some states) the chief police or fire officer
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an officer who organizes or conducts ceremonies, parades, etc
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Also called: knight marshal. (formerly in England) an officer of the royal family or court, esp one in charge of protocol
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an obsolete word for ostler
verb
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to arrange in order
to marshal the facts
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to assemble and organize (troops, vehicles, etc) prior to onward movement
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to arrange (assets, mortgages, etc) in order of priority
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to guide or lead, esp in a ceremonious way
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to combine (two or more coats of arms) on one shield
Synonym Usage
See gather.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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marshalcynoun
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marshalernoun
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marshallernoun
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marshalshipnoun
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submarshalnoun
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undermarshalnoun
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remarshalverb (used with object)
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unmarshaledadjective
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unmarshalledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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marshalsimple
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marshalssimple
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have marshaledperfect
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have marshalledperfect
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has marshaledperfect
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has marshalledperfect
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am marshalingprogressive
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am marshallingprogressive
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are marshalingprogressive
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are marshallingprogressive
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is marshalingprogressive
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is marshallingprogressive
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have been marshalingperfect progressive
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have been marshallingperfect progressive
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has been marshalingperfect progressive
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has been marshallingperfect progressive
Past
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marshaledsimple
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marshalledsimple
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had marshaledperfect
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had marshalledperfect
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was marshalingprogressive
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was marshallingprogressive
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were marshalingprogressive
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were marshallingprogressive
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had been marshalingperfect progressive
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had been marshallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of marshal
1225–75; Middle English marshal, syncopated variant of mareschal < Old French < Germanic; compare Old High German marahscalh groom, equivalent to marah horse ( see mare 1) + scalh servant, cognate with Old English scealc
Explanation
A federal marshal knocks on your door. You panic: a marshal is a law officer. What do you do? You marshal your thoughts, that is, put them in order. Marshal derives from the Old French mareschal, for stable officer. The stable officer had charge of the horses, tending to them, putting them in order, readying them for action. If you are a marshal, you're an officer. If you marshal yourself, you get yourself ready, preparing for action.
Vocabulary lists containing marshal
Content Summary G.1: Principles of Geography
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The Odyssey
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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:
He said now we needed a letter from the fire marshal that our school building was safe for children.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
“But we also have twins of our providers,” Mandadi said, helping the company marshal the clinical evidence and other key information necessary to motivate prescribers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
For the last 19 years, student-loan lender Sallie Mae has commissioned a study on how families marshal all the economic forces at their disposal to pay for college.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
“This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability,” Wing Chau, U.S. marshal for the District of Rhode Island, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
But at noon an airplane came in from Nome with word that the weather had cleared ahead, and the marshal sent the drivers off.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
A handful of cabinet-level figures in past decades have received a security detail from the marshals, a division of the Justice Department.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi was arrested in Mexicali on Saturday and handed over to U.S. marshals in San Diego, authorities say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
He marshals his commanding technique with the openness and vulnerability that have distinguished his whole career.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
On Thursday, federal marshals in Miami took the Tates into custody.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
He was an avid abolitionist, who helped Frederick Douglass escape from federal marshals in 1859.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
In a chapter titled “Jesus in the Dock,” Wright analogizes the legal forces marshaled against Jesus to the highly imperfect Texas criminal justice system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
During World War II, the U.S. government marshaled American companies and universities to solve medical challenges, including the mass production of penicillin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
New York City’s charismatic mayor, Zohran Mamdani, won his election as a DSA member in 2025 and has since marshaled political support for fellow progressives running for other offices in the city he runs.
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
Don’t question whether he marshaled a compelling reason to do so.
From Slate ● Jan. 12, 2026
"When all my strength is marshaled, I should have eight thousand foot and three thousand horse," Edmure said.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
In an opinion article written for the Financial Times last week, Bessent has cast the new measures as the “single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
For months, faith-based and secular groups there have marshalled thousands of volunteers to prepare for a potential mass deportation event they fear could result in a humanitarian crisis.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Coming in at number six, Gardner marshalled partnerships of 64 and 69 with Tahlia McGrath and Kim Garth, before being caught behind off Bree Illing.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
Letby's defence have, meanwhile, marshalled numerous arguments against the insulin theory.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
There on the wide flats beside the noisy river were marshalled in many companies well nigh five and fifty hundreds of Riders fully armed, and many hundreds of other men with spare horses lightly burdened.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
He wanted more of them and made his name marshaling often arcane data to win arguments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Navy destroyers, which are highly maneuverable and carry powerful weapons, would likely be used to intercept oil tankers and escort them to a designated marshaling area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
The initiative, described as the largest marshaling of federal scientific resources since Apollo, will require significant computing power.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
At the time, firefighters credited an extraordinary marshaling of firefighting resources as critical to keeping fires in Northern and Southern California from becoming far worse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2025
The Heads of Houses moved among the students, marshaling them into position and breaking up arguments.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Ukrainian and Russian officials visited the city together on Friday, delivering aid and marshalling those who wanted to leave in a rare show of cooperation between the warring sides.
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
Allans has been careful not to advocate a particular candidate or party – emphasising leadership rather than politicians, marshalling a new force, he says, outside traditional tribal voting blocs.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
His only involvement for the rest of the day was marshalling his team in the field, often hunched over with hands on knees.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025
Accurate CFRs are critically important in an outbreak because marshalling a public health response depends on understanding the disease’s severity.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2024
And so, instead of marshalling against me a corresponding array of Ancient Authorities,—you invariably attempt to put me down by an appeal to Modern Opinion.
From The Revision Revised by John William Burgon
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