patrol
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a person or group of persons assigned to patrol an area, road, etc.
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an automobile, ship, plane, squadron, fleet, etc., assigned to patrol an area.
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Military. a detachment of two or more persons, often a squad or platoon, detailed for reconnaissance or combat.
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the act of patrolling.
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(in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) a subdivision of a troop, usually consisting of about eight members.
noun
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the action of going through or around a town, neighbourhood, etc, at regular intervals for purposes of security or observation
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a person or group that carries out such an action
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a military detachment with the mission of security, gathering information, or combat with enemy forces
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a division of a troop of Scouts or Guides
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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patrolsimple
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patrolssimple
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have patrolledperfect
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has patrolledperfect
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am patrollingprogressive
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are patrollingprogressive
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is patrollingprogressive
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have been patrollingperfect progressive
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has been patrollingperfect progressive
Past
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patrolledsimple
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had patrolledperfect
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was patrollingprogressive
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were patrollingprogressive
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had been patrollingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of patrol
1655–65; < French patrouille (noun), patrouiller (v.) patrol, originally a pawing (noun), to paw (v.) in mud; derivative (with suffixal -ouille ) of patte paw; -r- unexplained
Explanation
When a person or a group monitors a specific area, that's a patrol. A police officer's night patrol might involve walking a beat on certain city streets. A patrol is the activity of watching a neighborhood or region, and also refers to the person or group doing the watching. And when you join such a group, you can say you patrol. Your neighborhood watch group might patrol the town in groups of three, driving up and down the streets keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. The French patrouille, "a night watch," comes from patrouiller, "go the rounds," and originally "tramp trough the mud."
Vocabulary lists containing patrol
The Road to Freedom
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"Soldier home after losing his leg in Afghanistan"
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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.
The seaside town where Stormtroopers patrol the beach.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026
When the time came, Rufus took over as chief claw patrol when he was 18 weeks old.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Noboa has used the armed forces to patrol major cities and take direct control of the federal prison system.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
US Park Police, the federal police agency which patrol the monuments on the National Mall, did not reply to a BBC email requesting confirmation of the arrest figures.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
The soldiers were turning away to patrol another street.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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.
