sentry
Americannoun
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sentries
plural
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a soldier stationed at a place to stand guard and prevent the passage of unauthorized persons, watch for fires, etc., especially a sentinel stationed at a pass, gate, opening in a defense work, or the like.
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a member of a guard or watch.
noun
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a soldier who guards or prevents unauthorized access to a place, keeps watch for danger, etc
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the watch kept by a sentry
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sentry
1605–15; short for sentrinel, variant of sentinel
Explanation
A sentry is someone who stands guard or watches against some intrusion or unwelcome activity. Your dog stands sentry over your house, but he would be more effective if he barked at strangers instead of licking their hands. The noun sentry came from the French sentinelle, which has a similar meaning. It was in the 17th century that the word was first associated with someone on a watchtower as a military guard. You could only enter the dreaded ice fortress after sneaking past the sentry posted outside. Don't let his button eyes and carrot nose fool you — he's a sharp one!
Vocabulary lists containing sentry
Beowulf
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Chains
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They Called Us Enemy
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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:
The sentry box had been installed in the 1990s as part of security measures introduced after IRA attacks in the City of London.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
As a stopgap, the VA brought on a private security firm in June to provide uniformed 24-hour “observe and report” sentry posts and roving patrols.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
An outpost for 30 soldiers with a couple of sentry points and barracks will burn through about 13 gallons of fuel a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
Barcelona stretched out in every direction, a mosaic of old stone, glass and spire, Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia standing like an undone sentry among the rest.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025
Donal remained in the entryway, as if posting himself sentry.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Immune cells act like vigilant sentries, moving through tissues and detecting remaining cancer cells that could lead to relapse.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2025
Men, dressed as Egyptian sentries, patrolled the roof of the theater, carrying rifles that were probably fake — but, given this was a Sid Grauman-staged event, you never know.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
Wing Commander Douglas Bader ranked as the greatest war hero in the prison and was met on arrival with salutes from German sentries.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2022
A worker addressing his crew lined up like sentries added drawings of the popular Olympics mascot Bing Dwen Dwen to the back of a suit.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2022
“Lord Winter has joined us with his levies,” one of the sentries outside the Great Hall japed... until he saw Theon’s face and realized who he was talking to.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
