sergeant
Americannoun
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sergeants
plural
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a noncommissioned army officer of a rank above that of corporal.
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U.S. Air Force. any noncommissioned officer above the rank of airman first class.
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a police officer ranking immediately below a captain or a lieutenant in the U.S. and immediately below an inspector in Britain.
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a title of a particular office or function at the court of a monarch (often used in combination).
sergeant of the larder; sergeant-caterer.
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Also called sergeant at law. British. (formerly) a member of a superior order of barristers.
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(initial capital letter) a surface-to-surface, single-stage, U.S. ballistic missile.
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a tenant by military service, below the rank of knight.
noun
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a noncommissioned officer in certain armed forces, usually ranking above a corporal
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(in Britain) a police officer ranking between constable and inspector
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(in the US) a police officer ranking below a captain
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See sergeant at arms
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a court or municipal officer who has ceremonial duties
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(formerly) a tenant by military service, not of knightly rank
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See serjeant at law
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sergeant
1150–1200; Middle English sergant, serjant, serjaunt < Old French sergent < Latin servient- (stem of serviēns ), present participle of servīre. See serve, -ent
Explanation
Sergeant describes a certain rank for a police or military officer. If you've been promoted to sergeant, congratulations are in order. Sergeant comes from the Old French sergent and originally from the Latin verb servire meaning "to serve," as in "to serve and protect," a police sergeant's job. Remember that sergeant is spelled with an "e" after the "s" (it's often misspelled with an "a").
Vocabulary lists containing sergeant
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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:
Other times, a sergeant holds a personal grudge, or the officers on your cellblock simply don’t like you.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
In another case involving the bureau, a black Labrador named Spike who was trained to detect fire accelerants in arson investigations overheated after a sergeant left him in a car for more than four hours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
A burly junior sergeant nicknamed Manunya has tattooed up to 100 of the soldiers in the brigade with national symbols, animals and family, throughout a war he joined in its first days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Last but not least, Thomas references a case about a deceased Air Force sergeant in Beck v.
From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026
He had the bearing of a drill sergeant.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
In 2024, the same union survey concluded that Barragan’s performance was “very good,” but said that his choices for lieutenants and sergeants “lack operational experience.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
A department spokesperson said 14 officers and two sergeants have been barred from having public contact and assigned to administrative duties.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The Americans killed in the Palmyra attack last weekend were Iowa National Guard sergeants William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a civilian from Michigan who worked as an interpreter.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
Both are senior to police constables, sergeants and inspectors and below the rank of commander and assistant and deputy commissioners.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
Into the house, into Adam’s bedroom, came a captain of cavalry and two sergeants in dress uniform of blue.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
