# patrol

Pronunciation: say "puh-TROHL" US /pəˈtɹoʊl/, UK /pəˈtɹəʊl/

## Noun

1. A walk along a line or through a district to guard it; also, the people doing the guarding.
   - Simple: A walk around an area to guard it, or the people who do the guarding.
   - _Each patrol covered a different stretch of the perimeter through the night._
   - _The captain doubled the patrol after reports of intruders near the wall._
4. In a police or sheriff's department, the largest body of officers, whose job is patrolling and responding to calls for service.
   - Simple: The biggest group of police officers, who drive around and answer calls for help.
   - _After the academy, she was assigned to patrol and rode with a senior officer._
   - _The department moved twenty officers from patrol to the investigations unit._
5. A group of guards who make the rounds to observe; a detachment whose duty is to patrol.
   - Simple: A small group of soldiers or guards sent out to watch an area and report back.
   - _The commander sent a patrol to watch the river crossing._
   - _A patrol spotted enemy movement near the ridge and radioed back._
6. A movement by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts, made to explore the area and gather intelligence about the enemy's location.
   - Simple: A trip by a small group of soldiers past their own lines to find where the enemy is.
   - _The lieutenant led a patrol beyond the outposts to scout the valley._
   - _A night patrol brought back word that the enemy had crossed the river._
7. A round made along the chain of sentinels and between the posts by a small guard, usually three or four men, to improve security against attacks on the outposts.
   - Simple: A walk around the guard posts by a few soldiers to keep the camp safe from attack.
   - _A patrol of three men moved between the posts every two hours through the night._
   - _The sergeant ordered a patrol along the line of sentries before dawn._
8. A small unit within a scout troop, usually grouped by rank or age, and ideally made up of six to eight members.
   - Simple: A small group inside a scout troop, usually six to eight kids of about the same age.
   - _The scoutmaster split the troop into a patrol for each age group._
   - _Her patrol won the cooking contest at the weekend camp._

## Verb

2. To move through a place as a sentry, guard, or police officer, keeping watch over it.
   - Simple: To walk or travel around a place to guard it and keep it safe.
   - _Soldiers patrol the border, looking for anyone crossing illegally._
   - _She patrols the museum halls after closing time._
3. To go the rounds along a line of sentries, or to move through an assigned police district or beat.
   - Simple: To move around an area on guard, watching for trouble, without a fixed stop.
   - _Soldiers patrol along the fence line from dusk until dawn._
   - _She patrols through the quiet streets on the night shift._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–8** — From French patrouille, from Old French patrouille ("a night-watch", literally "a tramping about"), from a verb meaning to paddle or dabble with the feet, which came from patte ("paw, foot"). This traces through Vulgar Latin and Frankish *patta ("paw") back to Proto-Germanic and possibly to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "path; to walk". It is related to pad and path.
**Meanings 2–3** — From French patrouiller, from Old French patrouiller ("to paddle, paw about, patrol"), from patte ("a paw").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/patrol (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).