marshal
Americannoun
-
marshals
plural
-
a military officer of the highest rank, as in the French and some other armies.
-
an administrative officer of a U.S. judicial district who performs duties similar to those of a sheriff.
-
a court officer serving processes, attending court, giving personal service to the judges, etc.
-
the chief of a police or fire department in some cities.
-
a police officer in some communities.
-
a higher officer of a royal household or court.
-
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)
-
marshals,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marshaled,
past participle, past
-
marshalled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
marshaling,
present participle
-
marshalling
present participle (especially British)
-
to arrange in proper order; set out in an orderly manner; arrange clearly.
to marshal facts; to marshal one's arguments.
- Antonyms:
- scatter
-
to array, as for battle.
-
to usher or lead ceremoniously.
Their host marshaled them into the room.
-
Heraldry. to combine (two or more coats of arms) on a single escutcheon.
noun
-
(in some armies and air forces) an officer of the highest rank
-
(in England) an officer, usually a junior barrister, who accompanies a judge on circuit and performs miscellaneous secretarial duties
-
-
a Federal court officer assigned to a judicial district whose functions are similar to those of a sheriff
-
(in some states) the chief police or fire officer
-
-
an officer who organizes or conducts ceremonies, parades, etc
-
Also called: knight marshal. (formerly in England) an officer of the royal family or court, esp one in charge of protocol
-
an obsolete word for ostler
verb
-
to arrange in order
to marshal the facts
-
to assemble and organize (troops, vehicles, etc) prior to onward movement
-
to arrange (assets, mortgages, etc) in order of priority
-
to guide or lead, esp in a ceremonious way
-
to combine (two or more coats of arms) on one shield
Synonym Usage
See gather.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
marshalcynoun
-
marshalernoun
-
marshallernoun
-
marshalshipnoun
-
submarshalnoun
-
undermarshalnoun
-
remarshalverb (used with object)
-
unmarshaledadjective
-
unmarshalledadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
marshalsimple
-
marshalssimple
-
have marshaledperfect
-
have marshalledperfect
-
has marshaledperfect
-
has marshalledperfect
-
am marshalingprogressive
-
am marshallingprogressive
-
are marshalingprogressive
-
are marshallingprogressive
-
is marshalingprogressive
-
is marshallingprogressive
-
have been marshalingperfect progressive
-
have been marshallingperfect progressive
-
has been marshalingperfect progressive
-
has been marshallingperfect progressive
Past
-
marshaledsimple
-
marshalledsimple
-
had marshaledperfect
-
had marshalledperfect
-
was marshalingprogressive
-
was marshallingprogressive
-
were marshalingprogressive
-
were marshallingprogressive
-
had been marshalingperfect progressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Odyssey
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Last Olympian
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
He must marshal support for the policy choices he will make in the next two years and for the cost of the defense measures the situation requires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 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
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
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
Nearby hangs Rockwell’s famous 1964 oil painting showing marshals escorting 6-year-old Ruby Bridges to an integrated school.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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
His feet were shackled and he held his hands behind his back, although US marshals had not handcuffed him.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
On Thursday, federal marshals in Miami took the Tates into custody.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
On November 17, 1926, when White was still settling into the new job, two new inmates were convoyed up the prison’s horseshoe driveway by U.S. marshals.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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
He marshaled data to suggest a productivity boom thanks to personal computing was under way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 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
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
"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
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
They could have had even more with an attack marshalled by Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert racking up 28 line breaks, 31 defenders beaten, 1,136 carry metres and 24 offloads.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2026
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
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. 14, 2026
Dubbed the Genesis Mission, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios called it “the largest marshaling of federal scientific resources since the Apollo program.”
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
This time, financiers are marshaling even larger sums.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
“I’m just trying to understand what would motivate the officers ... to grab such a large number of people so quickly and without marshaling reasonable suspicion to detain,” said Judge Ronald M. Gould of Seattle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2025
“We should get you out of here,” Theo says, finally latching on to what I was trying to tell him, marshaling me toward the stairwell.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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
The Telegraph's Michael Hogan declared that Clenshaw "had gone out on a high by marshalling this milestone week with ambition and aplomb".
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 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
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
In most years Camas Prairie served as the marshalling grounds for the annual buffalo hunt.
From Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society by Robert F. Murphy
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.
