patrol definition | Dictionary.com

pa⋅trol

[puh-trohl]

verb, -trolled, -trol⋅ling, noun

–verb (used without object)

1.	(of a police officer, soldier, etc.) to pass along a road, beat, etc., or around or through a specified area in order to maintain order and security.

–verb (used with object)

2.	to maintain the order and security of (a road, beat, area, etc.) by passing along or through it.

–noun

3.	a person or group of persons assigned to patrol an area, road, etc.

4.	an automobile, ship, plane, squadron, fleet, etc., assigned to patrol an area.

5.	Military. a detachment of two or more persons, often a squad or platoon, detailed for reconnaissance or combat.

6.	the act of patrolling.

7.	patrol wagon.

8.	(in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) a subdivision of a troop, usually consisting of about eight members.

Origin:
1655–65; < F patrouille (n.), patrouiller (v.) patrol, orig. a pawing (n.), to paw (v.) in mud; deriv. (with suffixal -ouille) of patte paw; -r- unexplained

Related forms:

pa⋅trol⋅ler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To patrol

pa·trol (pə-trōl')

The act of moving about an area especially by an authorized and trained person or group, for purposes of observation, inspection, or security.
A person or group of persons who perform such an act.
1. A military unit sent out on a reconnaissance or combat mission.
2. One or more military vehicles, boats, ships, or aircraft assigned to guard or reconnoiter a given area.
A division of a Boy Scout troop or Girl Scout troop consisting of between six and eight children.

v.   pa·trolled, pa·trol·ling, pa·trols

v.   tr.
To engage in a patrol of.
v.   intr.
To engage in a patrol.

[French patrouille, from patrouiller, to patrol, alteration of Old French patouiller, to paddle about in mud, patrol, probably from pate, paw; see patois.]
pa·trol'ler n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Patrol

Pa*trol"\, n. See Boy Scout.

Patrol

Pa*trol"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Patrolled; p. pr. & vb. n. Patrolling.] [F. patrouiller, O. & Prov. F. patrouiller to paddle, paw about, patrol, fr. patte a paw; cf. D. poot paw, G. pfote, and E. pat, v.] To go the rounds along a chain of sentinels; to traverse a police district or beat.

Patrol

Pa*trol"\, v. t To go the rounds of, as a sentry, guard, or policeman; as, to patrol a frontier; to patrol a beat.

Patrol

Pa*trol"\, n. [F. patrouille, OF. patouille. See Patrol, v. i.]

1. (Mil.) (a) A going of the rounds along the chain of sentinels and between the posts, by a guard, usually consisting of three or four men, to insure greater security from attacks on the outposts. (b) A movement, by a small body of troops beyond the line of outposts, to explore the country and gain intelligence of the enemy's whereabouts. (c) The guard or men who go the rounds for observation; a detachment whose duty it is to patrol.

2. Any perambulation of a particular line or district to guard it; also, the men thus guarding; as, a customs patrol; a fire patrol.

In France there is an army of patrols to secure her fiscal regulations. --A. Hamilton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : patrol

Spanish: patrullar,

German: patroullieren,

Japanese: 巡察する

More Translations »

patrol (n.)

1664, "action of going the rounds" (of a military camp, etc.), from Fr. patrouille "a night watch" (1539), from patrouiller "go the rounds to watch or guard," originally "tramp through the mud," probably soldiers' slang, from O.Fr. patouiller "paddle in water," probably from pate "paw, foot" (see patois). Compare paddlefoot, World War II U.S. Army slang for "infantry soldier." Meaning "those who go on a patrol" is from 1670. Sense of "detachment of soldiers sent out to scout the countryside, the enemy, etc." is attested from 1702. The verb first recorded 1691. Patrolman "police constable on a particular beat" is first recorded 1879, Amer.Eng.

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