sheriff

Pluralsheriffs

Formssheriffs, sheriffing, sheriffed

1. 1
   county police chiefnounUScountable

   A government official, usually elected, who typically runs a county's law enforcement and its jail and sometimes serves as an officer of the court.

   The sheriff announced that the county jail had reached full capacity.

   Sheriffs in some states also serve court papers and keep order in the courtroom.

   Note

   Because the office is usually elected, an American sheriff answers to the county's voters and runs for office like any politician. The same title names a county official in Britain and a judge in Scotland, so the setting decides how the word is read.

2. 2
   British officialnounBritishcountable

   An official of a shire or county, titled High Sheriff, who carries out court orders, enforces the law, and has other duties.

   The county's High Sheriff welcomed the visiting judges to the town.

   The sheriff of the shire sent bailiffs to enforce the court's writ against the landowner's estate.

   Note

   The title began as a job description: Old English sċīrġerēfa joined shire and reeve, so the first sheriffs were the reeves of shires. Despite the likeness in sound, it has no connection with Sharif, an Arabic title of honor. In Britain outside Scotland the formal style of the office is High Sheriff.

3. 3
   Scottish judgenoundialectalScotlandcountable

   A judge who sits in the sheriff court, the court that serves a county or sheriffdom.

   The sheriff adjourned the trial until the defense could call its witnesses.

   After a brief hearing, the sheriff granted the landlord an eviction order.

   Note

   In Scotland the title belongs to the bench rather than to policing: a sheriff is a judge, and the court takes its name from the office. The district it serves can be a sheriffdom, a word built the way kingdom is, from the title plus -dom.

4. 4
   do the jobverbtransitive

   To carry out the duties of a sheriff in a particular area.

   He sheriffed the county through two floods and a prison riot before retiring.

   Few deputies are ready to sheriff a county as large as this one.

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