marshal
Americannoun
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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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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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The Last Olympian
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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:
Bonta’s office, along with state fire marshal, are also challenging that oversight in court, arguing the lines that run through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties were incorrectly reclassified as intrastate pipelines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The US president refers to Munir as his "favourite field marshal", following their acquaintance in the aftermath of conflict with India that Trump helped mediate last year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
The closest woman for the job was Gail Curley, the Supreme Court’s marshal.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
RAND: Being able to marshal a lot of facts and evidence to refute conspiracy beliefs is really important.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026
Rather than approaching it, the hunters returned to Fairfax and informed authorities, and a deputy sheriff and the town marshal went to investigate.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
On Thursday, federal marshals in Miami took the Tates into custody.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
Antonelli had just made his pit stop when the VSC was deployed to allow marshals to recover some debris from the track.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Three US marshals stood behind him, and one was at his side, while the federal prosecutor handling the case, US Attorney for Washington Jeanine Pirro, looked on.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
Four federal air marshals with the Department of Homeland Security, who were working a security assignment nearby, witnessed the confrontation and rushed in to assist, according to police.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2026
Five weeks later, on December 20—381 days after the boycott had started—two federal marshals arrived at the federal courthouse and served written notices on city officials that Montgomery’s buses had to be integrated.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
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
But rather than reacting rashly, he marshaled a tenacious defense, not losing his composure or allowing himself to be tempted into a hotheaded action that could have led to disaster.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
In many places she chooses to undercut the image of the lone genius, sovereign over his book-lined study and carefully marshaled pens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Even the Treasury’s pivot toward heavier Treasury bill financing points to a world in which market structure, regulation, and innovation are quietly being marshaled to sustain an ever-larger debt load.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2025
He suggested that the combined resources of the attendees, using their clout to access research, publicity, and people with money, could be marshaled to defeat the worldwide menace of TB, one project at a time.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
They have created the infrastructure and marshalled the resources for an intergenerational struggle.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
England captain Harry Kane was so well marshalled that he only had two touches in the Ghana penalty area in the first half, although he blazed a late chance over the top.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Letby's defence have, meanwhile, marshalled numerous arguments against the insulin theory.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
By 2010, Woodcock had marshalled the center into a powerhouse with great independence — in many ways, outside the reach of the political whims of the commissioners who came and went.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 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
Most of these ships have the ability to launch helicopters that support boarding operations, and some are capable of marshaling commercial vessels to specific areas to hold them in place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
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
In South Korea, the country’s sprawling family-run conglomerates turbocharged the "Miracle on the Han River" by marshaling capital, technology and labor to industrialize the country at breakneck speed.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2024
"The Mallisters still hold Seagard and Walder Frey is marshaling his levies at the Twins."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Trains pulled in every 15 or 20 minutes, as many as the endlessly enterprising operators of Ukraine's railway network could find in the sidings and marshalling yards.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
He had helped Ruto win by marshalling support in Mount Kenya - the biggest voting bloc in the country.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2024
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
Joachim Andersen, the only recognised centre-back in the visitors' XI, was supreme in marshalling a back three that also contained full-back Clyne and midfielder Jefferson Lerma.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2024
The same night that Bacon and his patriot followers were entrenching themselves on the heights, the Governor and his adherents were marshalling themselves in the city.
From The Cavaliers of Virginia or, The Recluse of Jamestown. Vol. II by Caruthers, William A. (Alexander)
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.
