sheriff
Americannoun
-
sheriffs
plural
-
the law-enforcement officer of a county or other civil subdivision of a state.
-
(formerly) an important civil officer in an English shire.
noun
-
(in the US) the chief law-enforcement officer in a county: popularly elected, except in Rhode Island
-
(in England and Wales) the chief executive officer of the Crown in a county, having chiefly ceremonial duties
-
(in Scotland) a judge in any of the sheriff courts
-
(in Australia) an administrative officer of the Supreme Court, who enforces judgments and the execution of writs, empanels juries, etc
-
(in New Zealand) an officer of the High Court
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of sheriff
before 1050; Middle English sher ( r ) ef, Old English scīrgerēfa. See shire, reeve 1
Explanation
A sheriff is the top-ranking officer in a county police force. Unlike police in a city or town, the sheriff is an elected official. In most states, the sheriff serves a four-year term, and she oversees a department of police officers. A sheriff's job varies from state to state, but it generally includes enforcing the law, making arrests within the county, traffic control, prisoner transportation, and crime investigation. The Old English root word is scirgerefa, "representative of royal authority in a shire." Sheriff has been used in the United States since the 1600's.
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 sheriff acknowledged the problem and devoted substantial additional resources, including new processing software and additional personnel, to cutting waiting times dramatically.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, the sheriff opened his late-morning news briefing by apologizing for any confusion he might have caused about the department’s theory of the case.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The social work report on him said he showed little to no remorse or insight, the sheriff said.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lamb doesn’t describe himself as a constitutional sheriff.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
The new county sheriff dropped even a pretense of investigating the crimes.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Five West Texas sheriffs likewise wrote to federal officials saying advanced surveillance technology would be better suited to stopping undocumented migration in the rugged terrain.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
And whether or not he knew it, it also made him a representative of the community of constitutional sheriffs.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
In the nearly 30 years since, state attorneys general have gone from being local sheriffs chasing local criminals to potent political forces on the state and federal scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
“It strengthens the powers of Civilian Oversight boards and Inspectors General and upholds our subpoena authority while also showcasing the strong public interest in robust, effective oversight of sheriffs, their departments, and their operations.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
“Because the sheriffs report states that in your battery well there were two D-6 batteries. ‘
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
