sentry
Americannoun
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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
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Chains
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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 effort, called Baltic Sentry, launched in January 2025 and has yielded results, said Cmdr.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
Defence minister John Healey told parliament the country would be deploying its Rapid Sentry anti-drone system to Kuwait.
From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026
Nato had announced the mission, dubbed the Eastern Sentry, on 10 September following 19 drone incursions into Polish airspace.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025
The UK is "fully committed" to help strengthen the Eastern Sentry, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that it will provide more details soon.
From BBC • Sep. 13, 2025
First Sentry What is the use of talking about it?
From Jeremiah A Drama in Nine Scenes by Zweig, Stefan
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.
