provost marshal

American  

[proh-voh] / ˈproʊ voʊ /

noun

1. Army. an officer on the staff of a commander, charged with the maintaining of order and with other police functions within a command.

2. Navy. an officer charged with the safekeeping of a prisoner pending trial by court-martial.

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provost marshal British  

/ prəˈvəʊ /

noun

1. the officer in charge of military police and thus responsible for military discipline in a large camp, area, or city

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Etymology

Origin of provost marshal

First recorded in 1525–35

Example Sentences

A provost marshal enters the incident into a military database that puts the FBI on notice so it can enter the name into a background list of people prevented from buying weapons.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2023

Gen. Duane Miller, who as deputy provost marshal general is the Army’s No. 2 law enforcement official.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 2021

An Army provost marshal clashes with a detective over a murder at the San Francisco military base.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2020

He spent much of his Army career as a military police officer and was provost marshal at West Point from 1952 to 1955.

From Washington Post • Dec. 31, 2017

Take him to the provost marshal and then to the hospital.

From A Daughter of the Union by Madison, Lucy Foster